Two years? Has it been this long? It has been this long!
To celebrate Druchii.net's shiny new software, I'm reviving our long-standing tradition of intrigue and rhetoric, of unlikely and spectacular demises, of pink lightning and burning Torches for heresy: the SAU.
If you'd like to participate, leave a post in this thread saying so. If you have any questions about the game, its mechanics, or anything related that comes to mind, this thread is also the place to do so.
We should be able to accommodate more than 10 players, so come one, come all!
- Current player list (players will be listed here as they sign up)
- Meteor
- Calisson
- Lordanubis
- Deroth
- Belial
- Drainial
- Telrunya
- Nelmeer
- Sleekdd
The story so far
In an effort to cut costs and improve administrative throughput, the city council has created the 'administration tower,' a complex that supplies both housing and work areas for the city's administrative personnel. After several months, strange accidents lead to suspicious deaths, and an extra topic is set on the daily meeting agenda: who or what is causing these deaths, and who should be sent to follow extra courses on process management and workplace safety?
What is a SAU?
SAU stands for Slaanesh Amongst Us. The name hails from the early days of SAU on Druchii.net, where Slaaneshi had infiltrated a group of Khainist Druchii and had to be rooted out. While the protagonists and villains change with every session, the fundamental concepts remain the same.
The game is about a number of players amongst whom are incognito infiltrators. Each Day, all players can vote by majority to execute one of their fellows in hopes of in fact catching an infiltrator. Each Night, the infiltrators get to kill one of the loyalists. The loyalists win when all infiltrators are caught and eliminated. The infiltrators win when they equal or outnumber the loyalists.
If you want a better idea of what a SAU is like, feel free to peruse any of the earlier ones I've hosted:
- SAU VI: The Temple of Khaine
- SAU VIII: Inquisition
- SAU IX: Lost Raiders of the Ark
- SAU X: Traders and Traitors
- SAU XII: Black Ark Down
- SAU XV: Pawn of the Dead
- SAU XVII: The Frosty Dozen
What are the requirements to join?
You should have enough of a grasp of English to be able to understand full phrases and prose. How well you write is less important, though your fellow players will thank you if you can occasionally use punctuation.
You should be able to keep track of the game at least once every two days, and preferably daily. To keep the game flowing along at a steady pace, there are deadlines to every game phase. Typically, these phases are about 72 hours (3 days) in length. Experience teaches that phases longer than this tends to get the game 'stuck' and, because of the forum-nature of these games, SAUs are notoriously difficult to 'unstuck'.
How does the game work?
There are three main alternating phases to the game: the Morning phase, Evening phase, and Night phase. To set the phases apart from actual times in the short stories, phases always carry an initial capital letter: Morning, Evening, Night. After Morning comes Evening, then Night, and then Morning again.
The Morning and Evening phases are when all players convene and decide who, if anyone, to vote. Conversely, the Night phase gives infiltrators a chance to kill a loyalist.
-- The Morning phase --
Morning comes when Night ends, and is the phase where all players gather again to discuss. Everyone is required to post at least once in the Morning phase; players that have not posted by the time Morning ends are removed from the game.
Voting is possible during Morning, but execution is not. Votes made during Morning carry over to Evening, possibly leading to an execution.
-- The Evening phase --
When Morning ends, Evening sets in. During the Evening, posting is not required, but is still encouraged.
A majority vote leads to an immediate execution during Evening. When a player is removed through voting or when the deadline is reached, Evening ends, and players retreat for the Night.
-- The Night phase --
Night starts as soon as Evening ends. The Night phase is when people with special abilities may choose how to use them; more importantly, it is when the infiltrators decide on and perform their kill, removing a loyalist from the game.
Infiltrators, and other players with the explicit ability to do so, may use the Night to communicate covertly with their allies. No other players may contact each other regarding the SAU.
When Night ends, Morning starts.
The game starts at Morning.
When do we start?
When we have enough players. But don't worry, we usually wait a few more days to give latecomers a chance to sign up before we kick off.
How long does this game take?
The game typically lasts about a month, a month-and-a-half. If you're going on holidays, conventions, or congress for more than a few days in the next two months, you should probably sit this one out. (There'll be other games.)