Acrophilia #18 - ... and the winner is ...

[a free shadow]

9 hours ago, Julia H. said:

Castellan, who solves every clue and uncovers every theme and continues to lead the search for the Book of Ancient Knowledge! 

I have all the ancient knowledge in all the worlds, this book is a forgery  

9 hours ago, Castellan said:

I am shocked to realise A Free Shadow does such an earthly thing as celebrate holidays.

I do not  But out of pity for everybody I lend the ghosts  

[Ser Not Appearing]

I got my clue in on time so it's harder to guess which one was mine.

 

In your FACES!!!

[Jez Bell]

On 12/31/2017 at 2:32 AM, Ser Not Appearing said:

I got my clue in on time so it's harder to guess which one was mine.

 

In your FACES!!!

I guess that yours is the one that is depriving me of sleep.

[Castellan]

3 hours ago, jezzie_bell said:

I guess that yours is the one that is depriving me of sleep.

We are probably stuck on different clues but I know what you mean. I am truly stumped by one and there are several others for which can see multiple answers.

[Ser Not Appearing]

17 hours ago, jezzie_bell said:

I guess that yours is the one that is depriving me of sleep.

I don't imagine so.

[a free shadow]

On 12/30/2017 at 3:05 AM, Julia H. said:

 

4. "Heathcliff, arguably!" suggests literarily-inclined fan, lamenting knavish lord.

If this assumes I have read it, that is a giant mistake!

[Raisin' Bran]

3 hours ago, a free shadow said:

If this assumes I have read it, that is a giant mistake!

there is always a way to find out the info you need, just need to know where to search for it. Or at least that is what I would do, if I had not read it. Maybe I have, maybe I have not.

[Dolorous Gabe]

I always feel like I should have read it, considering I grew up less than half an hour's drive from Emily and her sisters' stomping ground.

[a free shadow]

20 hours ago, Raisin' Bran said:

there is always a way to find out the info you need, just need to know where to search for it. Or at least that is what I would do, if I had not read it. Maybe I have, maybe I have not.

I am too busy covering Castellan's castle in sticky materials  

[Castellan]

5 hours ago, a free shadow said:

I am too busy covering Castellan's castle in sticky materials  

That's it! That stuff has got in my brain. My run is over.

[Julia H.]

Extension is granted until 14:30 p. m. Saturday Central European Time. 

[Julia H.]

BTW, I don't know if you are still reading my little story about the quest to find the Book of Ancient Knowledge or just look at the clues. There may be more there than what meets the eye at first glance. (Hint, hint, hint.)

 

[a free shadow]

Ooh, I'm the last of the Others

My people are gone from the Earth

The last of the great storm cold Others

Who ruled all the world, all the world!

 

 

 

[Julia H.]

I'm planning to post the answers in about an hour. Until then you can make last-minute changes if you want to. 

[Julia H.]

ROUND SEVEN ANSWERS

1. Last. Alcoholic cretin.

Answer: Dontos Hollard.

Explanation: He is the last surviving member of his family. He is an alcoholic and not exactly a clever person.

Other guesses: Merrett, Tyrion.

2. Has a special laugh. Inaudible footsteps leave kings leery.

Answer: Varys.

Explanation: He giggles, walks very quietly, and makes even some royal personalities wary.

Other guesses: Ilyn Payne.

3. Lass adores crow.

Answer: Ygritte.

Explanation: Reference to Ygritte’s love for Jon Snow.

Other guesses: Gilly.

4. "Heathcliff, arguably!" suggests literarily-inclined fan, lamenting knavish lord.

Answer: Petyr Baelish.

Explanation: Based on an analogy with the anti-hero of Wuthering Heights. Both were brought up in the family of their respective loved ones, as a member of a lower social class, both rose socially and planned revenge. Both girls were called “Cat”.

Other guesses:

5. Halitosis and secret legitimacy investigations foreclose lord's kindly legacy.

Answer: Jon Arryn

Explanation: Reference to Lysa’s complaints of her late husband’s bad breath and to Jon Arryn’s investigations before his death.

Other answers:

6. Large! Atrociously charred.

Answer: Sandor Clegane.

Explanation: Sandor is tall, and he has a burnt face.

Other guesses: Victarion.

7. Hopeful about seizing lordship if female’s located. King’s leftover.

Answer: Axell Florent.

Explanation: In Castle Black he thinks about marrying Val and becoming Lord of Winterfell. He wants to see the girl (who is on a secret mission beyond the Wall), but Jon refuses to tell him where she is. Florent belongs to those people who were left behind with Selyse in Castle Black when Stannis went to war, and it really seems Stannis left behind the worst of his followers.  

Other guesses: Ramsay Snow, Hyle Hunt, Shadrich.

8. High as ... stout lady imagines flinging little knave loftily.

Answer: Lysa Arryn.

Explanation: Reference to the Arryn words and to Lysa’s possible plans with Tyrion when Tyrion is taken to the Vale as a captive.

Other guesses: Genna Lannister (I suppose the “little knave” in this case would be her husband,  Emmon Frey.)

9. Leafy acerbic comments.

Answer: Olenna Redwyne Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns.

Explanation: Leafy is a plant reference evoking Olenna’s nickname. Also, the Redwyne sigil (a bunch of grapes) is depicted in the wiki with a leaf. Acerbic comments are things she makes all the time.

Other guesses: Yoren

Theme: Characters whose breath have been smelled / sniffed and described by other characters (onion, cheese, ale, wine, sour, lilac-scented).

 

Please vote for your favourite clue not later than 9 p.m. Sunday, January 7^th (tomorrow), Central European Time. (Do not even be tempted to vote for clues #3 and #7.)

Until the same time, you can also submit your final super theme guess for three points.

[rocksniffer]

hahahahahahhaha...

y'all suck

...ok just kidding but...obviously #9 is osha...

[Julia H.]

A warning: I must admit that the super theme has recently become more difficult than it was to be at the beginning of the game, which is due to reasons not depending on me. This game can get out of hand has a life of its own.

[Dolorous Gabe]

I accept my culpability.

[Julia H.]

ROUND SEVEN AUTHORS, SUPER THEME AND END OF THE QUEST

Today is January 7^th, which seems to be a very fitting day on which to finish a game dedicated to the Seven. After all, we have had seven rounds, seven themes and, most importantly, seven players.

In Round Seven…

1. Dontos Hollard found a ghostwriter for his autobiography in Ser Not Appearing, who summed up the former knight’s life in three words.

2. Varys whispered secrets under his lilac-scented breath to Raisin’ Bran.

3. Ygritte received a short clue from Julia H.

4. Petyr Baelish (alias Heathcliff) realized, much to his chagrin, that he cast no shadow. 

5. Jon Arryn investigated and stumbled upon the theme (”halitosis”) while jezzie_bell was making a clue for him and knew nothing about the other clues.

6. Sandor Clegane, aka the Hound, breathed down rocksniffer’s neck all the time (with his winey breath) to help him sniff out the answers sooner.

7. Axell Florent was punished by Julia H. with a long and obscure clue, which made him even less popular.

8. Lysa Arryn showed the view from her castle to Castellan (but Castellan was careful).

9. Olenna Tyrell (née Redwyne) made acerbic comments on everyone in the presence of Dolorous Gabe.

 

Before looking at the final scores, it is time I revealed the super theme. 

So once again, the themes, with the key words highlighted:

Round One: Dreamers who were dreaming and then told their dreams to other characters.

Round Two: Characters who cast a large shadow.

Round Three: Characters (magically or otherwise) not appearing to be what they are.

Round Four: Characters having to do with bells.

Round Five: Nephews and nieces of castellans.

Round Six: Characters who have eaten raisins on page.

Round Seven: Characters whose breath was sniffed (and described) by other characters.

 

Super theme: Each theme was based on the board name or avatar of one of the players, so there was a round dedicated to each of you.

Normally, it was the board name the theme was based on. However, I couldn’t find any Gabes in ASOIAF, and I didn’t want to assign Dolorous Edd to every single player. (In retrospect I don’t understand why, because it would have made for an interesting and quick last round. I should have been more innovative perhaps.) Anyway, I decided to use Gabe’s title at the time – dreaming – which he has changed since then. (No, I wasn’t surprised when I saw it.) But, as jezzie_bell pointed out, this is also fitting in the sense that he dreamed up (invented) Acrophilia and told us about his dream. Because of that, he deserved to get the first round, too – although, to be honest, I chose the dreamer theme for the first round mainly because I didn’t want to give away the super theme so easily. In spite of that, two amazingly observant players, Castellan and jezzie_bell, guessed it before Round One was over! (This early discovery was worth five points.) 

Then we had large shadows for a free shadow, then appearances for Ser Not Appearing. (I included the Knight of the Laughing Tree as reference to Ser’s title.) That was the first round that Ser honoured with his non-appearance. Then we had bells for jezzie_bell, relatives of castellans for Castellan, raisins for Raisin’ Bran (I could have found a character called Brandon for every player, but some of them would have been too obscure), and then came rocksniffer’s theme, which I found relatively difficult, and that’s the reason why I used it in the last round, when the already discovered super theme was to help everyone anyway.

For rocksniffer, it was difficult to find a suitable theme as well. I thought of characters going to rocky places, but that seemed a bit too broad for a theme. When I tried to narrow it down, I got a very narrow selection of characters (such as all the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, ASOIAF cavers and ASOIAF mountaineers). Dog references only gave me a couple of Cleganes, Septon Meribald and six Starks. I also considered tongue twisters, but I only found twisted mouths in the books, and, for a while, I seriously considered “characters with a twisted mouth" (I think there is a sufficient number of them, actually), but in the end, I decided on “sniffing” and smells, and that led me to characters’ breath, which gave me a suitable list at last.   

An interesting result is that the themes cover all the five senses: sight – appearances; hearing – bells; taste – raisins; smell – scent of breath; touch - from the intangible to the tangible: dreams (intangible), shadows (themselves intangible, but you can touch the objects they fall over), castellan (a strong, tangible presence in a castle).

That’s the story of the super theme. Let me quote jezzie_bell again: “So I think the super-theme is about working together, using each of our strengths.” 

Now, that leads me back to our quest for the Ancient Book of Knowledge:

So, there you stand in front of the seven-headed beast, but suddenly you notice that you are not alone, nor is the castellan’s niece / nephew your only companion. There are your fellow-players as well. Yes, all of you have reached the door behind which the Book of Ancient Knowledge is hiding: There is rocksniffer sniffing the dragon’s fiery breath, there is Raisin’ Bran, who has followed the raisins as well as no one else, there is jezzie_bell, who thinks there is something about the dragon’s breath that rings a bell, there is Castellan, who has learned more about the secrets of the magical castle than anyone else, there is Dolorous Gabe, who has stopped dreaming for a few minutes to better concentrate on the task,  even Ser Not Appearing has appeared miraculously, and a large free shadow is looming over the monster. Together, you discover what to do. The dragon has seven mouths, each with a different smell: lemon, wine, ale, cheese, onion, mint tea and lilac. How lucky that you have just these items in your bags and pockets! Each of you starts feeding one of the heads with the corresponding food or drink simultaneously, and, amazingly, the dragon becomes quite tame and friendly. The door of the secret room opens, and you all start running. Who will reach the Book of Ancient Knowledge first?

Let’s see:

[Julia H.]

ROUND SEVEN RESULTS

NB: The red numbers mark the super theme points. Five points for the players who guessed it before the first round was over, four points for guessing it before the second round was over and three points for guessing it at a later point.

Name / Score	Guessing points	Theme points	Bonus points	Favourite clue points	Total
Ser Not Appearing	0				0+19=19
Raisin’ Bran	18	4			22+74=96
a free shadow	0	0+4		1	1+109+4 =110+4=114
jezzie_bell	21	4+5		3	28+126+5=154+5=159
rocksniffer	18	3			21+99=120
Castellan	12	4+5			16+157+5=173+5=178
Dolorous Gabe	24	4+3	5	2	35+113+3=148+3=151

 

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Castellan:  178

2. jezzie_bell: 159

3. Dolorous Gabe: 151

4. a free shadow: 114

5. rocksniffer: 120

6. Raisin’ Bran: 96

7. Ser Not Appearing: 19

As the only player elegantly submitting a perfect set of answers and the author of a popular clue, Dolorous Gabe has won another round in this game! The runners-up were jezzie_bell and Raisin’ Bran, who also discovered the theme and missed hardly any clues. Jezzie_bell is the proud author of the most popular clue as well. However, all of this was not enough to stop our lioness from being the first player to put her hands front paws on the Book of Ancient Knowledge and winning the game. Congratulations to the unstoppable Castellan on a very well-played game and a much-deserved victory! Further congratulations to jezzie-bell, who also played amazingly (believe me) and finished in second place – here’s a player all of us had better keep an eye on in future games! The third place goes to Dolorous Gabe, who missed a round while going on a different quest, but made up for the lost points in the other rounds.

Finally, congratulations to everyone who persevered in our shared quest and continued playing (or at least providing clues) for seven long rounds! Thanks to all of you for putting up with my difficult clues and obscure themes – thanks for playing!