Game of Tomes 2020 Recap
The following article is a recap of the events -- fictional and non-fictional -- that took place during the first Game of Tomes event in 2020. People really ran away with the roleplay, and we celebrate their creativity here!
The Game of Tomes was a conflict that first broke out in November of 2020. It was a resounding success with the Twitch writers' and World Anvil community, and the Anvilite Streamer Corps quickly decided to make it an annual event.
The Conflict
Prelude
2020 was a disastrous year on the third planet in the Sol system. As if the widespread political and social turmoil, and the vicissitudes of climate change weren't enough, a global pandemic known as Covid-19, a Coronavirus infection, forced most of the world into lockdown conditions. In response to the health risks of gathering in public spaces, NaNoWriMo headquarters informed their Municipal Liaisons, including Sable Aradia, that they would not be authorizing any in-person events for NaNoWriMo 2020. Fortunately, the ASC Wrimos had the benefit of the Anvilite community to gather with online. Inspired by the #NaNoHouseCup, which is masterminded and organized by Elayna Mae, a number of ASC writers who participate in NaNoWriMo agreed to pit their word counts against one another in a month-long winner-take-all battle for the Iron Tome. Sable Aradia of House Lapin laid the challenge, and six ASC Wrimos accepted her invitation.
Deployment
Participating writers decided which house to join, whether or not they would be mercenaries or remain loyal, and how they would personally interact with the Game. While exact numbers in each house were hard to track due to changing allegiances, in general, from smallest to largest house, membership was as follows:
Several minor houses also participated, offering their loyalties to the great houses in turn for mostly-limited periods:
- House Apis
- House Meles
- House Avis
- House Lapin
- House Chiroptera
- House Mollusca
- House Arakknis
- House Arensborg
- House Ceapaire
- House Chariste
- House Kitsune
- House Negmaw
- House Sauropoda
- House Tenebrus
- House Varangia
A total of 137 Tome Knights participated in the Game of Tomes in 2020.
The Engagement
Week 1:
First Elimination Stream:
Game of Tomes Week 1 Report:
Significant Events in Week 1:
- House Apis fell to the Undead Horde
- DaniAdventures, leader of House Apis, became the Night Queen and the Queen Zom-bee
- Siobhan the Writer and Cryssalia became the first two to complete NaNoWriMo
- Game of Tomes participants wrote 406,076 words in the first elimination period
Week 2:
Second Elimination Stream:
Third Elimination Stream:
Game of Tomes Week 2 Report:
Significant Events in Week 2:
- House Meles fell to the Undead Horde
- Darth Nikolas, leader of House Meles, became Lich Nikolas
- ShyRedFox, leader of House Kitsune, became ShyDeadFox
- The notorious mercenary Dazzlikat became Dazzlicorpse
- CoffeeQuills completed NaNoWriMo
- Game of Tomes participants wrote 339,119 words in the second elimination period
- House Chiroptera fell to the Undead Horde
- Siobhan the Writer became Queen of the Night
- House Chiroptera bought the services of AuthorGoddess just as they fell; Siobhan the Writer willed her services to House Varangian
- Lord Galakrond was driven from two houses -- House Meles and House Chiroptera -- and survived, to join House Mollusca
- Isaac A Thom, leader of House Ceapaire, was driven from two houses, and survived, to return to House Mollusca, where they started
- Nathalia Books survived the fall of Meles, to join the Varangian Guard, which was then driven from House Chiroptera to join House Lapin
- Game of Tomes participants wrote 382,698 words in the third elimination period
- Game of Tomes participants achieved 1 million words written!
- House Lapin, House Avis and House Mollusca had a bidding war over WriterGreg's words with bits - Kitoypoy and RPGDinosaurBob poured bits in, and Bob achieved victory for House Avis
- House Avis fell to the Undead Horde
- Cryssalia, the Penguin Prinx, became the Plague Penguin
- RPGDinosaurBob hired AuthorGoddess just as House Avis fell, and willed her words to House Lapin
- SunnyL wrote 80k words in the fourth elimination round
- Game of Tomes participants wrote 422,600 words in the fourth elimination period
- Eiliagh completed their second NaNoWriMo in a single month. This was their first time winning NaNoWriMo.
- Sable Aradia completed NaNoWriMo
- Eiliagh completed 3 NaNoWriMos in a single month
- Game of Tomes participants wrote 342,274 words in the fifth elimination period
- Sable Aradia was forced to flee the House Lapin when overwhelmed by the Undead Horde in the World Anvil community stream
- House Lapin fell to the Undead Horde - but Sable Aradia survived to bend the knee to House Mollusca, earning the epithets "Sable Bright-Eyes" and "The Queen who Knelt"
- Nathalia Books fell to the Undead Horde, sacrificing herself to save DMStretch and Sable Aradia, much to the Horde's joy
- The Undead Horde started stealing WriterGreg's words for the Horde
- Game of Tomes participants wrote 367,800 words in the final stretch
- The Game of Tomes participants achieved a total of 2 million words written!
- WriterGreg did a 24 hour charity stream for Kids Need to Read
Week 3:
Fourth Elimination Stream:
Game of Tomes Week 3 Report:
Significant Events of Week 3:
Week 4:
Final Elimination Stream:
Game of Tomes Week 4 Report:
Significant Events of Week 4:
Writer Greg's 24 Hours Charity Stream
WriterGreg hosted a 24 hour charity stream event at the end of the Game of Tomes 2020, featuring a number of guest worldbuilders, including many Tome Knights and major and minor house leaders! You can see the whole playlist of those features at this link!
Outcome
Final Confrontation - Game of Tomes 2020
Originally Aired Final Report
Note: this is very similar to the ultimate Final Report video which was made for World Anvil's community stream, which is featured belowGame of Tomes Final Report 2020:
Final Battle Stream:
Winner's Circle 2020:
Final Results:
Aftermath
The event was not without its problems. Scoring for the Undead Horde turned out to be inadequate, and will be revisited in 2021. Demand for streams, and opportunities to stream the event, forced the organizers to create a 24 hour streaming event calendar on the fly, so it was resolved that in 2021, this would be done beforehand. Also, the viewership of the ASC writing streamers was increased, but the viewership of the ASC RPG streamers fell. It was decided that something should be done to focus the same kind of promotional effort on the RPG streamers on another occasion, and an event would be created to celebrate them in spring of 2021.
However, the success of Game of Tomes 2020 far exceeded expectations. It brought new people into the community, and created lasting loyalty to the event in many of the participants. It also brought many disparate writing groups on Twitch together, including the ASC, the Twitch Writers' Network, and the 4theWords community. Several Tome Knights reported record totals in their word counts, and several others reported completing NaNoWriMo when they never had. The organizers, by popular demand, resolved that it would become an annual event.
Game of Tomes 2020 Credits:
Historical Significance
Legacy
Game of Tomes was so successful that, by popular demand, a "Game of Tomes Lite" event for Camp NaNoWriMo, the Game of Tomes Tourney of Tales , was created for April and July in 2021, with intentions of making them annual events as well.
From the cooperation born of Game of Tomes, writers and streamers from the ASC, the Twitch Writers' Network, the 4theWords community, and the 31 Days 31 Stories community, came together to create Writers' CONduit, a streamed writers' conference to take place on Twitch at the end of June 2021.
Original Works About Game of Tomes 2020
Nathalia Books, Varangian Guard by Nathalia Books
Included under Conflict
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Planetary
Start Date
November 1, 2020
Ending Date
November 30, 2020
Conflict Result
Victory for House Mollusca at a total of 779,544 words, and victory for the Tome Knights at a grand total of 2,260,567 words!
Leaders of the Great Houses
The House Leaders in 2020 were:
- Coffee Quills (House Mollusca, Japan)
- Cryssalia (House Avis, Malaysia)
- DaniAdventures (House Apis, United States)
- Darth Nikolas (House Meles, United States)
- Sable Aradia (House Lapin, Canada)
- Siobhan the Writer - Belvarn (House Chiroptera, Canada)
House Apis Banner by Dani Adventures
House Avis Banner by Dani Adventures
House Chiroptera Banner by Dani Adventures
House Lapin Banner by Dani Adventures
House Meles Banner by Dani Adventures
House Mollusca Banner by Dani Adventures
Undead Horde by DaniAdventures
Minor Houses of Game of Tomes 2020
House Arakknis
House Caepaire
House Kitsune
House Negmaw
House Sauropoda
The Many Faces of House Varangia
Game of Tomes 2020 Leaderboard
- Siobhan the Writer
- Cryssalia
- CoffeeQuills
- NathaliaBooks
- Sleepy_owl_ink
- Eiliagh
- DieNyaa
- TheHappyMaskMaker
- Misades
- Diannika
- KaiBrightwing
- Wardenred
- Mavwy
- RPGDinosaurBob
- Sable Aradia
- Angsthase
- ATWWrites
Charities
Belligerents
House Apis
Led by
Strength
DaniAdventures
The Queen Bee
She/Her
House Apis by DaniAdventures/SableAradia
Lesser Houses in Service to the Apis Banner:
- House Sauropoda - Led by Dinosaur Bob (until House Apis' defeat, November 5, 2020)
Casualties
House Apis was defeated on November 5, 2020, with a total of 35,359 words for their 6 members and lesser house members, and mercenaries. The Queen Bee Dani and Serukis fell to the Undead Horde. DaniAdventures rose again as The Queen Zombee. She and Serukis the Zombee promptly began to terrorize the living with their impressive word counts.
and House Sauropoda fled to the arms of House Avis, and bent the knee to the Feathered Prinx the same day.
Objectives
To slay all others with the repeated stings of their word count totals, and claim the Iron Tome!
House Avis
Led by
Strength
The Penguin Prinx, The Feathered Monarch
They/Them
House Avis by DaniAdventures/SableAradia
Lesser Houses in Service to the Avis Banner:
- House Arensborg - Led by Dhelian
- House Tenebrus - Led by Bloodclaw (eliasredclaw123)
- House Sauropoda - Led by Dinosaur Bob (as of November 5, 2020)
- House Ceapaire - Led by Isaac A. Thompson (as of November 15, 2020)
Casualties
House Avis was defeated on November 20, 2020, at a total of 312,213 words. The death toll was catastrophic. New zombies included gwenefre, nine_and_kittens, dhan_llynya, and eilaigh. House Sauropoda leader RPGDinosaurBob , now known as RIPDinosaurBob or FossilBog and the Feathered Prinx themself, Cryssalia Noire, now known as Corpsalia the Plague Penguin, were both consumed by the Horde as well. Their epic word counts considerably increased the strength of the Undead considerably.
With his dying breath, DinosaurBob willed the service of his mercenary, AuthorGoddess, to House Lapin for the remainder of her agreed-upon term of service. House Caepaire and House Arensborg both fled to House Mollusca. The fate of House Tenebrus remains unknown.
Objectives
To fly to victory on the wings of words, and claim the Iron Tome!
House Chiroptera
Led by
Strength
Mistress of the Night, Queen of Bats
She/Her
House Chiroptera by DaniAdventures/SableAradia
Lesser Houses in Service to the Chiroptera Banner:
- House Varangia - Led by DMStretch (until Chiroptera's defeat, on November 15, 2020)
- House Ceapaire - Led by Isaac A. Thompson (November 5 to November 15, 2020)
Casualties
House Chiroptera was defeated on November 15, 2020, at a total of 187,601 words. Siobhan the Writer , Queen of the Night, was the first to fall to the Undead Horde, to rise again as Queen of the Nite. Moonflower, LizaGrimm, and Caliope7 were also taken by the Horde.
A pitched battle ensued! Siobhan the Queen of the Nite proved to be more of a menace as the Undead. She and Dazzlicorpse pursued Lord Galakrond, Realm of Music, DMStretch, and Nathalia Books with pitched ferocity. Pizza, chocolate, and the corpses of racoons and pigs were thrown as distractions, and many axes were brandished. But in the end, the living who were not already claimed escaped.
House Ceapaire and House Varangia scattered in different directions. House Ceapaire swore their toast to House Avis, and House Varangia swore their axes to House Lapin.
Objectives
To accumulate life (words) while everyone else is asleep, gather a great cauldron of bats, and use these combined resources to seize the Iron Tome!
House Lapin
Led by
Strength
The Chief Rabbit, The Mother of Bunnies, Sable Bright-Eyes, The Queen Who Knelt
She/They
House Lapin by DaniAdventures/SableAradia
Lesser Houses in Service to the Lapin Banner:
- House Arakknis - Led by Kalghidorah
- House Chariste - Led by Rabidcandyvoid
- House Varangia - Led by DMStretch (as of November 15, 2020)
Casualties
House Lapin was defeated on November 25, 2020, at a total of 494,222 words.
House regulars PrideAscending, Xantos the Great, p2poo2, Mirabaar, and Kitoypoy fell to the Undead Horde. Kalgidorah, leader of House Arraknis, was also embraced by the Undead, as was respected Varangian mercenary NathaliaBooks, who sacrificed herself to save her Captain and House Leader, and confused mercenaries MagikBeyondYourKen and Esongbird24601.
Unlike every other major house leader, Sable Aradia survived the battle and fled to the sea, to bend her knee to the Kraken, CoffeeQuills of House Mollusca, earning the epithets "Sable Bright-Eyes" and "The Queen Who Knelt".
The fate of House Chariste remains unknown.
Objectives
To amass their forces and take the Iron Tome through sheer numbers!
House Meles
Led by
Strength
Mr. Badger, The Great Badger, The Honey Badger
He/Him
House Meles by DaniAdventures/SableAradia
Lesser Houses in Service to the Meles Banner:
- House Kitsune - Led by Shy Red Fox
Casualties
The clan of House Meles was defeated on November 10, 2020, with a total of 86,557 words. This close but disastrous defeat resulted in both Darth_Nikolas and Meles' loyal banner, Amy Winters-Voss, leader of House Kitsune, rising again as Undead. Lich Nikolas and ShyDeadFox quickly became a menace to the living.
The battle also claimed the life of the mercenary Dazzlikat, who rose again as a zombie as well.
The scattered members of House Meles and House Kitsune, bereft of both of their leaders, were left to eke out their existence with new houses as best as they could.
Lord Galakrond, scion of House Meles, and Realm of Music, Lich Nikolas' widower, fled to House Chiroptera, only to once again be forced into flight when Chiroptera was destroyed on November 15, 2020.
Objectives
To dig their way through the plot holes, and fight steadily and aggressively to claim the Iron Tome!
House Mollusca
Led by
Strength
The Kraken, The Thing That Should Not Be, The Cosmic Kraken
They/Them
House Mollusca by DaniAdventures/SableAradia
Lesser Houses in Service to the Mollusca Banner:
- House Arensborg - Led by Dhelian (as of November 25, 2020)
- House Ceapaire - Led by Isaac A. Thompson (until November 5, 2020)
- House Negmaw - Led by Sodose26
Casualties
House Ceapaire changed their allegiance to House Chiroptera on November 5, 2020.
TheOtherJoshArt of House Mollusca was caught in the holdings of House Chiroptera on November 15, 2020, and consumed by the Undead Horde.
House Arensborg changed their allegiance to House Mollusca, to continue to fight for the living, on November 25, 2020.
The Kraken accepted the allegiance of the survivors of House Lapin on November 25, 2020, when Diane Morrison bent the knee.
Objectives
To have so many tentacles grabbing for the Iron Tome that nobody else can touch it!
Undead Horde
Led by
Strength
Casualties
The Undead Horde was defeated by the living, under the banner of House Mollusca, in the Final Battle, at a total of 364,143 words.
Objectives
To plod on steadily with their ever-growing army of undead Wrimos, slay the living en masse, and deny anyone else the Iron Tome through raw attrition!
Comments
Author's Notes
I know there were a lot of important events I missed, but this is what I was able to gather by watching the Final Battle stream again, to make sure I got everything in the correct order -- so if you have other events to add that you remember, just tell me what week they happened in, and I will make sure to add them. This includes the week in which you finished your NaNoWriMo goal, because everyone is important! Thank you again to everyone who played!