Long Game 13: Traitors on the Plains

[Feligon]

Plurn tapped the cliff with the metal tip his walking cane to make sure it was sturdy before standing on it.  Hands on doorknob cane topper.  Wait, the cane needed to be tilted towards the chasm.  Perfect.  Head tilted ever so slightly up... aaaaand...  a slight breeze made the strips of fabric behind his headband.  I bet I look so awesome right now.  So majestic.

 

The caravan continued to move forward.  The chulls had pulled the bridge across the chasm.  Plurn stepped back and continued his march toward the Oathgate.  He wondered if he would know how the thing worked.  It was probably the same kind of weird science these people used.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

Plurn felt his pocket become lighter almost instantly.  This was exactly the same stuff he had dealt with back in his hometown.  Without turning his head, or giving any sign that he realized what had happened, he tapped the metal end of cane to the exposed leg of the thief.  There was a loud snap and he fell over.  

 

Plurn casually picked up his coin bag.  It was full of large denominations of coin, but they were only accepted where he was from.  "You don't even want these," he whispered to the man laying on the ground, who was still trying to recover from a state of shock.

 

Wow, I'm funny, Plurn thought to himself

Edited July 14, 2015 by Feligon

[Bort]

Player List:

1. Sani (The Only Joe) - Lighteyes who once scribed for Dalinar Kholin.
   
2. Justin (Peng the Just) - Former slave.
   
3. Sheon Idris (Seonid) - Selish Worldhopper.
   
4. Ableah Edr (Haelbarde) - Woefully without description. Another Selish Worldhopper, of a clan of Selish Worldhoppers. - Refugee Shardbearer
   
5. Etam (Metacognition) - Scout.
   
6. Madon (Mailliw73) - Crem collector. 
   
7. Bartholomew the Blind (Bort) - midget barbomancer/Worldhopper.
   
8. The Roszo (Renegade) - Herdazian who is determined to be more impressive than his glowing cousin.
   
9. Adamir (Adamir) - Darkeyes who is convinced he's from another world.
   
10. Seixa (phattemer) - Yet another Selish Worldhopper,* and once (pseudo-)Priest of Shu-Korath. 
    
11. Kip Sturm (Kipper) - Smart Alec Woefully without description.
    
12. Ace (Macen) - Delusional man with a tiny hammer, believes that he's a Brightlord and a Radiant. 
    
13. Jain (Lightsworn Panda) - A panda. In a desolate wasteland. (Maybe he's Thanadal's exotic Shin pet?)
    
14. Em C. Palah (Emerald101) - Emuli potter. (Needs Ace's hammer.)
    
15. Citrona Vinid (Shallan) - Scadrian-Elantiran Worldhopper and noble who will not be questioned.
    
16. Wannan (Herowannabe) - Darkeyed soldier. Alive, and assumed to be immortal, seeing how he isn't dead.
    
17. Eradin (eramit) - Best darkeyed spearman in Thandal's army.
    
18. Wol (Araris Valerian) - Old ardent who might know how to spell his own name.
    
19. Findilti Findilt (idolevy) - Delusional man who thinks he's a Knight Radiant.
    
20. Orlok (OrlokTsobodai) - Woefully without description.
    
21. Plurn Burn (Feligon) - Engineer who is woefully ignorant of fabrials.
    
22. Dow (dowanx) - Woefully without description.
    
23. Eo (Spooky Eowyn) - Apparently Thaylen with fake eyebrows. May or may not be a Selish Worldhopper.
    
24. Akirsefatafesrika (Bridge Boy) - Blasphemous pretend soldier.
    
25. Smeagol (leiftinspace) - Obsessive midget Universehopper. 
    
26. Kazaaakplethkilik (Paranoid King) - Supposedly famous thief and Worldhopper.
    
27. Alvonoha (Alvron) - Ardent, and owner of a strange cat. Catquisitor!?!
    
28. Cla (Clanky) - Horneater who loves drinking contests.
    
29. Torren (twelthrootoftwo) - Recalcitrant conscript, and spy for Roion.
    

 

Bortholemew the Blind sighed. It had happened again. Hairhopping to a world, only to land right in the middle of the chull dung (unique taste). Although, given how large those piles of dung seemed to be, perhaps they were chasmfiend dung.

 

This time, some fools were trying to stop this band of refugees fleeing across the Plains towards the safety of Urithiru. Well, what more could Bortholemew do but keep his eyes and beard open.

 

He found himself walking alongside a most unusual fellow, with an incredibly complicated name - Kazaaakplethkilik. Instinct, or maybe his beard, told Bortholemew to be careful around this one, especially if he wanted to keep hold of his spheres.

 

There was something about the name too. It sounded vaguely familiar somehow, although the all-too human face was putting him off. Eventually though, he realised, and lifted a finger to point at Kazaaakplethkilik. "It's YOU!!!" Bortholemew declared, before adding. "You look much better as a human, than you did a space bug."

[eramit]

"Storming world hoppers" muffled Eradin when he passed Bortholemew the blind in his way to his guard duty. what did he just said space bug? did he meant a bug that takes a lot of place? nevermind you could never understand world hoppers and never trust them!

as he suspected before there will be troubles but what concerned him the most was the fact that maybe he cant trust anymore his old friends... storms! about what he is thinking?! they will never betray him! 

 

the dropping rain - that left from the highstorm last night - didnt help his dread mood and just increased that when he walked in his way to brightness sani tent to guard her. apperantly the other guard was ace this delusional man actually got that duty (this work is going to be harder than i though...) and this dropping rain in the sound of clip clop when he hit the stone annoyed him, all those things in one day - two people foudn the end of their journey in the chasms, huge groups of world hoppers appearring from the air... - it wasnt a good day for him maybe he should get a rest...

Edited July 14, 2015 by eramit

[Adamir]

Thay stood on a perch atop a rocky outcropping, gripping the stone with both hands. The people here called this place the 'Shattered Plains'. An apt description; he remembered a broken plate as a child, dropping a heavy rock onto its center. It had cracked and broken with much the same patterns as the Plains. What was of more interest to him, however, was the storm that passed the previous night. It had been burning, literally burning, with energy, but it refused to obey. This world functioned under different laws than his own.

[Paranoid King]

"Curses" thought the Mantis Human Kazaaakplethkilik. It usually took much longer before he was recognized. If he had the rest of his crew, he would surely have challenged this man who dared accuse him. As it was, however, he kept a wary eye on this one. You can never trust people who are too observant.

[Peng the Just]

I'm confused. Why did people die the first cycle? Did the traitors and people with kill roles get their roles early? Maybe I'm just missing something...

[Herowannabe]

I'm confused. Why did people die the first cycle? Did the traitors and people with kill roles get their roles early? Maybe I'm just missing something...

Haelbarde withdrew from the game before sign ups closed. I don't know who Ralyt Faialen is but judging from the last name I'm assuming it's a character of our illustrious GM's creation. Either way, neither of those characters were actually participating in this game, so nobody really died, it's just how Aonar is kicking the game off.

[Peng the Just]

Haelbarde withdrew from the game before sign ups closed. I don't know who Ralyt Faialen is but judging from the last name I'm assuming it's a character of our illustrious GM's creation. Either way, neither of those characters were actually participating in this game, so nobody really died, it's just how Aonar is kicking the game off.

Got it. I didn't really follow the sign ups thread after I signed up. Thanks!

[Orlok Tsubodai]

Raylt Faialen was Seonid I think - again, they pulled out before the game started. 

I'm going to apologise in advance for the lack of roleplay in my posts - as you may have gathered from my previous posts in this forum I struggle writing it, and as such don't particularly enjoy doing so.

Please don't take this as me not being engaged or enjoying the game - I very much do!

[Macen]

A silhouette of a man was walking along the edge of the chasm in the post-storm showers. If anyone had cared to look they would have realized it was Ace, a man in his mid-50’s who had a penchant for talking to himself.
Is
Ace loved highstorms, always had, he felt some sort of affinity toward them. This was why, whenever possible, he would watch them and go walking through the showers afterwards.
White
“I told you there wouldn’t be anything out here Phyllis. Why do you never believe me?”
Text
To any who may be watching, it appeared Ace was talking to a little hammer he always carried around.
Still
“What do you mean there might be something out here? What are we even looking for?” Ace was starting to raise his voice above its usual whisper. “I should stop listening to you. Do you know that people think of me?! They think I’m crazy and talking to myself!”
A
Ace continued to walk along the chasm looking around for something… if only he knew what.

Thing?

I'm excited for this game. Been a while since I played and this one looks fun.

*EDIT* Orlok, I'm the same way - but I'm going to try really hard on this character, because I put a decent amount of thought into his back story and character.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Macen

[Paranoid King]

Kazaaak eyed the man warily. If he carried enough of the strange currency this planet used, he might be a worthwhile target. He was certainly unstable enough that he might not even notice the robbery. On the other hand, Kazaaak's pouch was already bulging with the number of spheres he had already.

Glowing spheres. What a poor choice for currency. If you stole too many, people would grow suspicious because your gloves were glowing. He resolved to visit a planet that dealt in solid gold next. Along with being easy to hide, it was useful almost anywhere.

[Elithanathile]

Akirsefatafesrika whacked the man with the strange glowing hands on the back of the head. It didn't make him feel any better, but it did give him an opportunity to take the man's gloves and eat them. And that did make him feel better. "You never feel better than when you've eaten somebody's glowing gloves," his Aunt had always said. She then proceeded to back up her words. Many times. Akirsefatafesrika went through a lot of gloves as a child. It wasn't his fault that his hands glowed with an unearthly light. Many said it was because of his name. It being long and all. Nobody ever mentioned the symmetry. Akirsefatafesrika glanced up, just in time to avoid getting speared by the lightning bolt from the almighty himself. The man without the glowing gloves, as of now, was not so lucky. Having a symmetrical name had it's pros and cons. He sighed and went on his way, letting out a small glowing burp. He might bring those back later, to spend, or maybe eat again.

 

Edit: Minor spelling and grammar.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Bridge Boy

[Paranoid King]

Curse these robbers. They didn't even have the decency to stealthily steal stuff. Kazaaak needed a new crew to get back at them. But where to find one? Asking around the camp, he discovered that there were two groups going onto the plains. But nobody knew who was in either.  Most confusing. Choosing a group at random, he swore to follow their ideals and goals. He was sure that after a few days of seeing his effectiveness, they would unanimously elect him their leader. Yes, and then he would eradicate the other group. His plan made, he moved off to replenish his supply of spheres.

[Renegade]

Ronzo yawned, stretching his arms wide.  Both arms, of course, not just one, like his cousin.  Storming fool thinks he’s just so badchull because he lost an arm.  Doesn’t even realize it also makes him look like an idiot.  Ronzo cracked his neck and walked over to see what all the ruckus was this morning.

 

“The Ronzo is not a morning person,” Ronzo muttered.  Most of the problem, of course, came with the fact that he’d spent the majority of last night trying and failing to get the soulcaster he’d borrowed to work.  Wasn’t soulcasting supposed to be easy or something?  The ardents all did it with relative ease, so it couldn’t be that difficult.

 

But apparently, it was.  Ronzo walked over to the other refugees to see someone raise some sort of shell in the air.  “A shell?” Ronzo grumbled to himself.  “That’s not even worth stealing.  Back to sleep for me, then.”

 

“That’s no shell,” a woman said, overhearing Ronzo.  “It’s a whistle!  Makes the chulls go crazy!”

 

“Oh?” Ronzo said, suddenly interested.  “That sounds delightful.  Might have to try it out myself!”

 

“What?  Are you insane?” the woman shouted.  “You blow that, the chulls could jump right into the chasms!  Do you want that to happen?”

 

Ronzo blinked.  “Ah.  Maybe not the best idea.  But why’s that whistle even here, then?  It’s almost as if someone wants the chulls to go crazy.  Weird, eh, gancho?”

 

The woman just rolled her eyes and walked away.

 

“Ay!  Rude one, aren’t you?” Ronzo frowned, putting his hands on his hips.  “Eh, whatever.  She probably thinks I’m crazy, but I’m definitely sure that there’s something going on here with that whistle-shell.  Maybe I could be a detective, and save that day!  Then they will all sing songs in my name!  ‘The Ronzo, our savior!’  Oh boy!  But where to begin?”

 

Ronzo looked around for clues.  “Aha!” Ronzo shouted, pointing at a random man in the crowd.  “You’re wearing a hat!  And it isn’t even that sunny, gancho!  Pretty suspicious…”  Ronzo nodded to himself, and then walked away to contemplate the meaning of such a hat.

---

 

Well, guess I should get started!  First thing I'd suggest is that the KRs be careful who to make into a Squire.  The player doesn’t have to be completely confirmed, but if you end up with a Diagramist Squire that gets the Division surge, for instance... that might not end too well.  That said, for Lightwevers and Elsecallers, who can scan player alignment, it’d probably be best to scan someone early on, and (assuming that they’re a Refugee), Squire them as soon as possible.  For everyone else, it might be best to wait a few cycles before deciding on a Squire.  (Another thing to note is that Squires only get 1 charge/highstorm, so Squiring someone on Night 3, when they'll begin their life as a Squire on Day 4, won’t be all that different from Squiring on Night 5.)

 

Aside from that, I’ll wait to see what everyone else posts before deciding on a vote.  (Also, I probably won’t be all that active from tomorrow until Saturday, since I’ll be away on a trip.  I'll still have an opportunity to post at least once/day, though.)

[Lightsworn Panda]

Is it just me, or is there not a single poke vote?

 

I'd like to echo Ren's point about the KR being cautious about who they squire, especially any of those with a Division Surge (or, for that matter, any surge).

 

Meta, anything to contribute?

[Emerald101]

GM question: If someone is squired in the interim between Highstorms do they get to start with a charge or do they have to wait for the next storm to come?

[Aonar]

GM question: If someone is squired in the interim between Highstorms do they get to start with a charge or do they have to wait for the next storm to come?

 

They will have to wait until the next Highstorm before using any abilities. However, they will be able to begin communicating with their Knight immediately after Squiring.

 

(Also, because people were wondering about this earlier: Faialen is my character. I've used that surname in a couple different Roshar games, now. I offered to use Sheon (Seonid's character) in the write-up, as well as Ableah, but Seonid didn't want him to die quite yet. )

[twelfthrootoftwo]

"No bodies, sir. Just the whistle."

 

Captain Iramil turned to regard him with piercing green eyes, the mark of his station. "The news has spread, I take it? What do they say?"

 

"Foul play is assumed. It is generally believed that Faialen and Edr were both killed in the same incident, though whether a third party was involved is not known."

 

Iramil paused for a moment, then nodded. "Observe the situation. I will assign others to assist in gathering information."

 

"Yes sir." Torren saluted crisply, then turned and left. He would report the events to his contact in Roion's force via spanreed tonight. Perhaps Thanadal would seek to downplay the security breach, but if the refugees were in danger, all deserved to know. Instinct told him that Faialen had been responsible for these deaths, but that did not mean she was working alone.

 

I would suggest taking care when using Illumination as well. Since the PMs are one-on-one, there's no way to disguise who the creator is.

 

Shallan, you impressed a lot of people in QF8. Any thoughts on this game?

 

Edit: the Awakener strikes again!

Edited July 14, 2015 by twelfthrootoftwo

[Alvron]

Alvonoha soulcast another rock into a handful of grain.  As one of the few ardents able to use the soulcaster fabrials it fell to him to provide the grain for the camp today.  It was a long laborious task, but one that gave him a good amount of privacy.

 

It was imperative that they created as much grain as they could.  Rumours were abound about spheres being dun just a day or so after a Highstorm.  Most of the people blamed the strange storm that blew the wrong way but there were also whispers about those that could do what the Assassin in White did.  Drain a sphere of Stormlight.

 

Storm leavings. thought Alvonoha.  That's about as likely as the Nightwatcher giving you what you asked for.

[Mailliw73]

Madon awoke to cries of death and Radiants. He didn't care. Why couldn't people be like crem? Beautiful and silent. Crem was easy. Crem was simple. People were obnoxious and confusing. 

[Metacognition]

Etam's stomach sank when he saw the Chull whistle. 

 

All this time I've been watching for outside threats and the true enemies are hiding out within!

 

He'd have to double his efforts to help keep these people safe. There was no time for being "off duty" now. When he was out on patrols, he'd have to watch for the dangers of the Shattered Plains, but when not, he'd try to use his skills to hunt down those threats from within as well. He didn't know why he felt so compelled to protect these refugees, but something inside him just wouldn't let him turn away. 

 

Might as well get an early start then, he thought as he scanned the crowd. Right away, he could tell that it was going to be difficult to trust these so-called, "Worldhoppers." What did that even mean? Anyone could hop on the world! Besides that, he found them particularly insulting. He'd never heard of this place called Sel that most of them kept whispering about, but watching them try to pretend to be Alethi was just disgusting. Their mannerisms were always just slightly off and their understanding of social etiquette was terrible. It was like watching a Horneater pretend to be Thaylen. They tried to appropriate his Alethi culture, but failed miserably. 

 

Of course, just because they are trying to pretend to be something they're not doesn't mean that they're the ones trying to keep us from reaching the Oathgate. This is going to be harder than I thought. 

 

Etam continued his careful study of the crowd, looking for cracks in someone's facade like he was looking for traps out on the Plains. He would help these people if he could.

 

---

 

Not much to add right now that hasn't been said. This game is going to be a bit atypical due to how many powers can be used both during the day and night, which makes it particularly difficult to plan for. I do have some thoughts though. 

 

With 27 players, we can safely assume that we could have anywhere between 4-7 Diagramists amongst us, depending on what and how many abilities they have, with it more likely being 5 or 6. We shouldn't focus too much on that just yet because it doesn't do us much good, but I'd use it as a rough guideline until we know more. One thing that I think is fairly likely though is that not every Diagramists is going to be a Radiant. As such, they have two options:

 

1- They can make their own Diagramists into their Squires and thus strengthen themselves (obviously not a bad option) or

2- They can Squire someone else to gain their trust. 

 

I bring this up so that people will be aware of the possibility. Just because someone makes you a squire doesn't mean that the person isn't just trying to manipulate you. Just be careful of that possibility. If their every suggestions seem to work in favor of the Diagramists more so than the Refugees, you might be in this type of situation. I'd still wind up trusting someone who made me a Squire more so than not, but keep your suspicions fluid, IMO.

 

I echo Ren's thoughts on being careful who gets Squired. If you have the means to scan someone first, do so before squiring them. Speaking of Transformation though, I suggest scanning for alignment more so than role. If they're a Refugee, then their role is only important if you're looking for a Squire and you can test that by trying to make them a Squire. If they're a Diagramists, then it doesn't really matter what their role is; we'll want them dead all the same. 

 

The other thing that I've been trying to figure out is how/when it would be at the most beneficial for our Radiants to use their abilities. A Highstorm comes every 3 Cycles. That means a total of 9 turns (I obviously meant 6 this entire time! I'm not horrible at math, I promise! >.< ) for Radiants to stretch their 2 charges over. This will obviously make using protections like Progression and Cohesion much more difficult to use effectively. Not only do we have to try to guess when the Diagramists would use their charges, but then also pick out who they'd attack and so on. And it's not like we can really talk this out. If we decide as a group that the Diagramists are more likely to use their abilities early, then they'll just use them late in the 3 cycles before a Highstorm. If we think late, then they'll use their charges early (although, Illuminationists, this would be a decent way to see if any of the people you're in contact with is a Diagramists. You could tell them one way and if they do the other, then you might have a Diagramists on your hands). 

 

Even trying to pool our resources into just the night turns doesn't help that much. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Diagramists have someone with Gravitation specifically to get around us doing something like that (Most likely a Windrunner) and trying to stop/block kills to help confirm ourselves. 

 

Due to all of this, unless someone has a better idea yet, I think we should just have people use their powers to the best of their abilities rather than try to restrict too much this game. The Diagramists certainly will be using their powers to the best of their advantage and limiting ourselves (like we've done in the past with vote-changing roles) isn't going to do us as much good. 

 

So that's where I stand so far. Also, Jain, you really, really seem to like voting for me. You did it all throughout QF8 and you're starting again here. If you're trying to get me to talk, it won't work. I do so when I'm ready, not because of some poke vote. The fact that you're trying to follow a pattern you've displayed previously makes me wonder if you're not trying too hard to make everything seem like it's all just the same as last time. That, coupled with the fact that you were pretty quick to agree with Ren, which seems like you could be trying to align yourself with someone that you know to be good, is by far the best evidence I've seen on just the first day as any. 

Edited July 15, 2015 by Metacognition
Pointed out correction

[Peng the Just]

Is it just me, or is there not a single poke vote?

 

I'd like to echo Ren's point about the KR being cautious about who they squire, especially any of those with a Division Surge (or, for that matter, any surge).

 

Meta, anything to contribute?

Targeting the most experienced player by 'random' right out of the gate is pretty suspicious, panda

[Araris Valerian]

Peng, this seems a bit soon to be forcing a lynch, although I'm not entirely sure when the cycle ends, I need to check up on that. But you seem partially guilty of what Meta voted on Jain for; agreeing with another player without too much apparent reasoning. Experienced players aren't necessarily more or less of a priority for the lynch since they are in the mix with the rest of us. Not that I disagree with what Meta said, but Jain hasn't had a chance to respond yet, so a second vote on him seems a bit inappropriate.

[leiftinspace]

quick clarification, in case of a tie lynch vote, does that mean that there is no lynch? or will it be randomly decided like QF8?

[Elithanathile]

I'm not going to vote quite yet, due to a lack of information. I really don't know people's strategies, how they normally act, etc. I'll let people's actions speak for themselves.