Long Game 18: Holly and Iron

[Wonko the Sane]

Okay, I'm seeing this mistake from a lot of people. Guys, only one vote per full cycle counts toward tuition reduction. If you only vote once this turn, then not at all next turn, it will have the same effect as if you vote twice both turns. The rules specify a flat deduction of 5 jots if you file a complaint, not 5 jots for each complaint you file. If you have no reason to vote besides tuition, you should only vote once each cycle.

BB, I recognize that there is some suspicion behind your votes, so this may not apply to you; your comment just brought it to mind.

If you want to keep your abilities to yourself, that's fine, but is there anything else you can tell us about these suspicions? How strong are they? Perhaps you could use these same abilities to find someone who you trust somewhat, then reveal it in PM? Role powers are nice aids to help find Eliminators, but they're only really effective when the results become part of Village discussion.

[TheMightyLopen]

Wonko, I'm not sure that's correct. Here's why: "Reductions and Inflations are calculated per turn and averaged together for the cycle."

 

So I think you need to do each tuition reduction element each Month to get the lowest tuition you can. So, let's say I post once in the thread, impress a Master, and do 2 quality RP's in the first Month of a term. Then, the second Month of that same term, I post once in the thread, impress a Master, send a message, file a complaint and do 2 quality RP's. The first Month's tuition would go down to 7 talents. Then, the 2nd Month's tuition would go down to 6 talents, but once it's averaged together, my actual tuition that I need to pay would be 6.5 talents.

 

GM's, is that right?

 

Also, unless he votes for 2 people, since he's the only voter, that player is very likely to get expelled. So to help that not happen. Wonko. Araris.

[Silverblade5]

I read the rules, but I'm still a bit confused on elevation, impressing masters, and hoe to gain ep. Would anyone mind spelling it out for me as if I was in 5th grade?

[Araris Valerian]

I kinda wanted to write my advice in RP form, but I don't know your character's name/gender Silverblade, since it isn't in the player list for some reason :/.

 

@Silverblade: The way I understand it is you have 5 (or less, if already elevated) EP to assign to the different fields of study (This is what impressing Masters means, and you do it in your PM with the GM). You could put 1 point each in 5 areas, all 5 points in Math or something, or go in between. Then, when the Masters assign DP, your EP that is in that field will get used up to counteract that. DP assignment is kinda random right now, so if you get voted for expect a risk of losing some.

 

Then there is a random choice made by each master to elevate a student. Say I have 5 EP in Math, you have 3 EP, and two others each have 1. There is a total of 10 EP in Math, so the Master has a 1/10 chance of elevating each player per EP they have. So I have a 5/10 chance, you have a 3/10 chance, and the two other players each have a 1/10 chance for elevation. And if you get elevated you lose all your EP in that field unless you had more than 5, in which case you lose 5.

 

That actually is a good point Lopen. If only a couple people end up getting voted on then the DP from Masters would almost certainly end in their expulsion. Which then makes me sad that I am being voted for, especially since I already have a higher tuition compared to others...

 

So I guess I'll place two votes for now, and come back and remove one of them if there seem to be a decent number of people with votes by the end of the cycle.

 

I'm gonna vote for Hael for doing quicklinks and RP while not really discussing the game directly (maybe a bit hypocritical, but I'm trying to fix that with this post) and on Mailliw, for PM phishing. By the way, I practice PM safety, so if somebody contacts me asking to trade info or anything of the like, I will not respond in a positive fashion (mostly just with a no and possibly a complaint).

[TheMightyLopen]

Why is your tuition higher compared to others Araris? I just picked you since you hadn't been brought on the Horns yet and you should still be able to afford paying the small bit of extra if you do.

 

BB, could you remove your vote from Burnt? She's an Edema Ruh, so she can barely pay for her tuition. If she gets brought on the Horns, that's only gonna make it that much more difficult for her.

 

Vote tally:

 

Mark(1): BB

Burnt(1): BB

Sasuke(1): Mailliw

Wonko(1): Lopen

Araris(1): Lopen

Haelbarde(1): Araris

Mailliw(1): Araris

Edited March 5, 2016 by TheMightyLopen

[Araris Valerian]

My bad. I was confusing the ranks of elevation, and I'm not a Re'lar yet (who have to pay 1 talent extra). So don't mind that bit of my post.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Araris Valerian

[Wonko the Sane]

Wonko, I'm not sure that's correct. Here's why: "Reductions and Inflations are calculated per turn and averaged together for the cycle."

Huh. I did not read that rule. I think you're right in your interpretation of it, though. So to get the full reduction you need to vote at least once each turn.

You're also right about spreading the vote; I had completely forgotten about the Masters' role in the complaint process. This is good news, though; it means that we have a way to force more dire consequences if we need to, by narrowing the vote to only a few players. I had been worrying about the apparent impotence of this game's lynch.

To help spread the vote further, I'll level my votes at Mashadar Mistborn, who, if I'm understanding Wilson correctly, is still technically in the game and therefor a valid target, and at Neodymium, who has not been seen or heard from since he signed up.*

I understand and even accept the vote on myself, but if you're looking for those best able to bear the penalty, why choose Araris, and not irulelikeSTINK, the other Vint?

*Note: I know the same can be said for Thisismyusername, but in his case I have his constant assurances that he is doing everything he can to get caught up and start playing despite a busy schedule. And, as Lopen has pointed out, the Aturan can better afford the possible disciplinary action.

[TheMightyLopen]

I don't think only the rich should receive votes. I think most everyone can afford being brought on the Horns except Edema Ruh(Elbereth and Burnt). Also I didn't remember Araris posting anything for a while. Now that he has though, Araris. PK. Someone who is the same class, and has been elevated already, so less of his elevation points will get taken away if he's brought on the Horns. I think getting your Elevation Points taken away is worse than a tuition inflation.

[Silverblade5]

I kinda wanted to write my advice in RP form, but I don't know your character's name/gender Silverblade, since it isn't in the player list for some reason :/.

@Silverblade: The way I understand it is you have 5 (or less, if already elevated) EP to assign to the different fields of study (This is what impressing Masters means, and you do it in your PM with the GM). You could put 1 point each in 5 areas, all 5 points in Math or something, or go in between. Then, when the Masters assign DP, your EP that is in that field will get used up to counteract that. DP assignment is kinda random right now, so if you get voted for expect a risk of losing some.

Then there is a random choice made by each master to elevate a student. Say I have 5 EP in Math, you have 3 EP, and two others each have 1. There is a total of 10 EP in Math, so the Master has a 1/10 chance of elevating each player per EP they have. So I have a 5/10 chance, you have a 3/10 chance, and the two other players each have a 1/10 chance for elevation. And if you get elevated you lose all your EP in that field unless you had more than 5, in which case you lose 5.

That actually is a good point Lopen. If only a couple people end up getting voted on then the DP from Masters would almost certainly end in their expulsion. Which then makes me sad that I am being voted for, especially since I already have a higher tuition compared to others...

So I guess I'll place two votes for now, and come back and remove one of them if there seem to be a decent number of people with votes by the end of the cycle.

I'm gonna vote for Hael for doing quicklinks and RP while not really discussing the game directly (maybe a bit hypocritical, but I'm trying to fix that with this post) and on Mailliw, for PM phishing. By the way, I practice PM safety, so if somebody contacts me asking to trade info or anything of the like, I will not respond in a positive fashion (mostly just with a no and possibly a complaint).

Thank you. I understand much better now. If you want to edit in an RP, character name is Silverblade, gender is male, and location is either library, or wherever you currently are.

[Haelbarde]

@Araris: Yeah I'm aware, and I'll be trying to do a better job next cycle. Spent this last week adjusting to Uni starting back up.

Has Thisismyusername posted yet?

[Mailliw73]

I wasn't going to use my second vote, but if I'm up on the horns, I'm all for spreading them, so BB.

[Kynedath]

BB and Thisismyusername. BB I don't really like your erratic and kind of arrogant behavior. TIMU, you seem to be inactive.

 

RP coming after roll-over Mark.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Kynedath

[Elbereth]

Mashadar, I suppose.

[Danosaur]

Danosaur rushed to the mailbox after his long days at school, which became drearier and drearier with each one that went by. There was definitively something bad going on beyond his control. He put too much hope into try to gain talent pipes. He wanted the rediscovery of his love of the kazoo to have an effect on his life.

 

Then Danosaur’s dreams were crushed.

 

Crushed in the first sentence of the letter. He wasn’t quite good enough. Wasn’t quite good enough to play the kazoo, wasn’t quite good enough to make good friends, wasn’t good enough to afford to escape and find a safer university.

It was a Friday night and he could hear everyone laughing and in a cheery mood, but it just wasn’t something that Danosaur could fake his way into being part of that night. He pulled his plushie out of his bag (which had even more noticeably been falling apart than before), crawled into bed, gave it a hug and gave up for the day. He would continue his efforts in school, hoping and wishing for a better future.

[Kipper]

I guess this is the part where I post to say I'm here...

 

Unfortunately, I've been rather inactive due to providing music for a women's event. It was fun, and it would be absolutely ideal if the Skindancers didn't sabotage me while I'm trying to wind down.

[Wonko the Sane]

Has Thisismyusername posted yet?

Unfortunately, he has not. I'm sure you're getting tired of hearing this from me -- I know I'm tired of saying it -- but he continues to tell me that he has been very busy lately, but that he is doing everything he can to get caught up and start playing in earnest.

It's frustrating, but I believe he's being honest. I actually don't think he's even managed to send in his orders even once yet, though I did manage to get him to fix his lodging when Wilson threatened to put people on the streets.

I will do my best to make him post in the thread before the end of the night. If he doesn't, I'll join you in persecuting him as an inactive.

[Danosaur]

Mashadar is my vote

Edited March 6, 2016 by Danosaur

[Kynedath]

Danosaur rushed to the mailbox after his long days at school, which became drearier and drearier with each one that went by. There was definitively something bad going on beyond his control. He put too much hope into try to gain talent pipes. He wanted the rediscovery of his love of the kazoo to have an effect on his life.

 

Then Danosaur’s dreams were crushed.

 

Crushed in the first sentence of the letter. He wasn’t quite good enough. Wasn’t quite good enough to play the kazoo, wasn’t quite good enough to make good friends, wasn’t good enough to afford to escape and find a safer university.

It was a Friday night and he could hear everyone laughing and in a cheery mood, but it just wasn’t something that Danosaur could fake his way into being part of that night. He pulled his plushie out of his bag (which had even more noticeably been falling apart than before), crawled into bed, gave it a hug and gave up for the day. He would continue his efforts in school, hoping and wishing for a better future.

Ohhh, right in the feels man.

[little wilson]

The turn and the month are over! I'll try to get the results posted as soon as possible, but we're down a GM right now, which means things will be.....slower. >>

[little wilson]

Term 2: Month 2 - And the Streets Will Run with Blood

 

Ashad coughed and wrapped his cloak around him tighter as he walked down the street towards the alley he called home. He passed by an unlit doorway and heard two people arguing. They seemed to be in a disagreement, one of them thinking one thing, the other thinking something else, but Ashad didn’t stick around to listen. He wasn’t one to eavesdrop on conversations. Plus, he was starving. And he was cold. And he just….well. Generally didn’t feel well at all. Maybe he was coming down with something. He grimaced.

 

When he got to his little corner of the alley, he picked up his thin blanket and wrapped it around him, sitting down, and pulling out the small sack of bread he’d tucked behind a pile of trash. He peeked inside, pulling out a small loaf, and began to eat. Once he was done, he put the sack back, hiding it so no one could find it, and curled up under the blanket. His head rested on his moldy-rag pillow, and while it wasn’t the most comfortable place he’d ever slept, it wasn’t too bad.

 

….Oh, who was he kidding. The cobblestones dug into his back, and he always woke up every morning stiff as a board, with aches in places he didn’t even know you could ache. It was horrible. And the pillow. It was the only thing softer than stone he’d been able to find to use as a pillow, but it smelled foul and it left his hair with a stench he just couldn’t wash out, and that meant that people skirted around him when he went to class. His social life was wretched. All because he was here on the streets. Why hadn’t he gotten a room at an inn? It’s not like he didn’t have the money for it. He did. He’d just…..let all the fun at the University suck up all his time and by the time he realized he needed a new place to live, he’d lost his room at the Golden Pony, and all the other inns on this side of the river were booked up solid! But he couldn’t just desert his studies! No! He’d paid good money to study here, and he intended to see that through, at least to the end of this term.

 

A shadow fell over him, and he felt a metal-toed boot dig into his back. “Get out of me way, street rat,” a low voice growled.

 

Ashad rolled over and stared up at a burly man. Scar tissue covered most of his face, and he was missing an eye. The mercenary didn’t even bother to put an eye patch on to cover the fact that his eye had been dug right out of his skull. It was just there. The marks and everything. All-in-all, Ashad could easily say that this was the scariest man he’d ever laid eyes on.

 

He scrambled up, dropping his blanket in the process, and stood against the stone wall of the alley, to give the man clear room to move on. But the mercenary tripped over the blanket, and barely caught himself before falling flat on his face. He rounded on Ashad, whose eyes widened in panic.

 

He only got two steps down the alley before the mercenary grabbed him. He let out a blood-curdling scream, but the only person (other than the mercenary) who heard was the shopkeeper of the building next door, who promptly shut the door to block out the scream, not wanting to get involved with a mercenary on business.

 

The last sound Ashad made was a gurgle as he choked on his own blood.

 

---

 

Ashad (Mashadar Mistborn) was brought On the Horns, but the charges were dropped!

Pyra Ghetti (Burnt Spaghetti) was brought On the Horns, but the charges were dropped!

Marcos Mayweather (Mark VI) was brought On the Horns, but the charges were dropped!

Sasuke Uchia (Weaving Webs) was brought On the Horns, but the charges were dropped!

Neo (Neodymium) was brought On the Horns, but the charges were dropped!

Wilem was brought On the Horns and charged with Undignified Mischief! He needs to RP an apology.

 

Ashad (Mashadar Mistborn) has been killed by a mercenary! He was a Student!

Neo (Neodymium) has been killed by a mercenary! He was a Student!

 

These students were elevated: Wilem, Touka, Acaelus, Varda, Mind of Akasha, and Marcos Mayweather.

 

 

• Wilem (Mailliw73)
• Kipper (Kipper)
• Touka Kirishima (DeathClutch19)
• Acaelus Starfire (Kynedath) - Bookworm who rarely leaves his room or the Archives
• Amari (Araris Valerian)
• Ashad (Mashadar Mistborn) - lazy student drifting through the University on his father's money Student
• Varda Elentari (Elbereth) - a mediocre student
• Haelbarde (Haelbarde)
• Pyra Ghetti (Burnt Spaghetti)
• Reader (The Only Joe)
• Mind of Akasha (Bridge Boy)
• Delta (Paranoid King)
• Marcos Mayweather (Mark IV) - a scholarly student who avoid the arcane
• Corrin (TheMightyLopen) - a young man with large ambitions
• Klin (Clanky) - a large man who seeks eternal youth
• Aeaieis (ostrichofevil)
• Wilhelm Mint (irulelikeSTINK) - a man convinced he's the last of the Amyr
• Sasuke Uchia (Weaving Webs)
• Sev (Wonko the Sane)
• Mac n Cheese (Thisismyusername)
• Danosaur (Danosaur)
• Neo (Neodymium) Student
• Dow (Dowanx)
• Silverblade (Silverblade5)

Edited March 6, 2016 by little wilson

[Mailliw73]

To get this out of the way before I forget:

Wilem was confused. He had been brought before the Masters again. This time with a charge. One of so-called undignified mischief.

What kind of kraemlish charge was that? Wil had hardly done anything on the last month besides study and mess around with Telari on occasions. But now he had to apologize.

He stood in the square and yelled for all to hear. "I, Wilem of Atur, apologize! For what, you ask? For whatever caused you to be upset. I apologize for the time you spent complaining about me! I apologize for your poverty and for your arrogance, whichever applies!" He ended with a rude gesture to the general vicinity of the Vintish.

Why was there no sabotage? Did someone already get protection items/powers?

[Wonko the Sane]

Yeah, it's a little weird. Wilson, supposing there were a failed sabotage, would we see it in the write-up, like in other games? Or do we just have to guess?

 

Would the intended target of the sabotage be informed of it? If the protection was offered by another player, would they know?

 

Edit: Oh, by the way, I'm not a Skindancer.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Wonko the Sane

[DeathClutch19]

Sorry for not posting I was busy with School Work. Here is the RP for Elbereth.

 

Touka took varda into her room. "Pick out whatever you want from the closet and you can have it" she said. Touka had way too much clothing anyway and had been looking for a way to get rid of it. She hated having no closet space.

 

"Oh and sorry for the mess ive been too busy studying to bother with cleaning up" she said embarrassingly. Touka tried to pick up a few things and make it easier for Varda to move around the room. She probably thinks i'm a slob and a loser, she thought to herself.

 

Touka had her accomplishments from when she was younger hung up on the wall, she was especially proud of all her martial arts medals. Though Touka didn't like other people knowing she was a good fighter, it made her seem manly. She tried to stand in the way of the medals so Varda couldn't see them as she walked to the closet.

[Kynedath]

"Hmmm... That was interesting, wasn't it, Acaelus? Fiends, I have a few here. As for friends though, they're the harder kind of fiends to acquire. So far, I haven't had much success. So, Dragonfire Chronicles, eh? I bet it's interesting."

 

Marcos was showing interest in his studies? That must be a good sign. This was going so much better than Acaelus had expected. Plus, Marcos hadn't made many friends either. That probably meant that either Marcos was desperate at this point, or they were similar and could bond easily.

 

"Say, would you accompany me? I need to go give this fallen book to a nobleman, and I'd appreciate someone there to help me. I get a bad feeling he's going to lose his head..."

 

If he needed help, then Acaelus was more than willing. He had spent most of his time in his beloved library, but his current excursion into the wilderness of friendship was giving him confidence that he hadn't had for so long. It was a bittersweet moment for him. He loved the sensation of being a part of somebody's world other than an author's. But he couldn't help thinking of that one childhood memory that haunted him. Normally, it was tucked away in a corner, covered in the problems of science and adventure, but talking with someone as a friend was bringing those memories back to the forefront of his mind.

 

But he couldn't let the past ruin his future. He would have to make new memories here at the University. He would cover the past with the present. He would have to forge a new way of life. It was a scary prospect, but seeing the smile on Marcos' face gave him an odd sense of courage. These were unfamiliar waters, yet they were thrilling. Comfort was useful in many ways, but humanity didn't valorise use as much as it did relationships.

 

"Of course, if you need anything, just ask. I'm always available to help out." Grabbing a bookmark from the ground beside his chair and placed it in his book. He gathered the rest of his books in his arms and stood up. "Who exactly does the book belong to?"

Edited March 6, 2016 by Kynedath

[little wilson]

Yeah, it's a little weird. Wilson, supposing there were a failed sabotage, would we see it in the write-up, like in other games? Or do we just have to guess?

 

Would the intended target of the sabotage be informed of it? If the protection was offered by another player, would they know?

 

Failed sabotages (and insanity rolls that would put the person over but are adjusted by a roll to help the person) are shown in the writeup and the results will simply say that someone started showing signs of cracking, but took steps to mitigate that. It's not said which one it is. This was not the case here, since it's not in the results.

 

Yes, to both. At least, if the protection fought off the sabotage, the player would be informed of it. Otherwise, they have no idea that they were protected.