Whose Tim Cosing?

[TheSoundOfTrees]

@Trajector : my hypothesis is that it means "take the central letter in each 3*3 part of the grid". The problem is building the grid : it gives nothing with the cover list, nor the cover names rearranged with a transposition based on SENTINELS as a key. I will try a substitution, but it's been a long time I haven't played with ciphers and don't remeber much about other codes. And may be wrong with my hypothesis !

[Trajector]

Here are some thoughts about making a grille out of the X grid:

• We could index the rows and columns by the word “SENTINELS”

• The pattern of dots on a die showing 4 or 5 could form a grille

[HeroComplex]

@TheSoundOfTrees

@Trajector : my hypothesis is that it means "take the central letter in each 3*3 part of the grid". The problem is building the grid : it gives nothing with the cover list, nor the cover names rearranged with a transposition based on SENTINELS as a key. I will try a substitution, but it's been a long time I haven't played with ciphers and don't remeber much about other codes. And may be wrong with my hypothesis !

Clever idea about using the middle pip as a grille.  It would mean we'd only be drawing from the 2nd, 5th, and 8th lines, though, which (at first glance) would make many of the answers superfluous—unless we had to manipulate the grid first in a way that still required all answers.

Tried URLs with Sentinels letter-shifted once in either direction, given the one missing pip, that didn't work.  Tried looking at how many times the letters in Sentinels appear across all answers, I think it was 386686833, neither that nor CHFFHFHCC was a working URL either.

[MrLeRobot]

@RySmith6

I was so hoping to have been done. But more puzzles means more story, and I can't very well turn that down now!The nine covers, for reference have been:

genocidal harbingeroddalliesomnitronutimevtimeftadamantbethegateendofdaysscionsaid

 These line up to the Xs, but how to use them. The left image is named First, and the right is named Back, but I have no clue where to go from there. I think our next clue might still be numbers, as we've generally gotten a comic scene between covers.

Don't know if i'm alone here, but "time v time" just doesn't mean anything to me… time VS time maybe, but only "v"…? If it is any indication, i've noticed that this "v" is positionned exactly at the center of the matrix (or grille?). Also, V is 5 in roman numbers… This position, if I remember correctly is also where the ID of the Scholar was found in the source code of the "itscoming" URL… Also… Anyone finds it strange that both "beginning" and "itscoming" leads to the same page?

pitching ideas as usual…!

[FreedomGunfire]

I've often seen "vs." and "v." used to mean the same thing, so not sure there's much to that. Besides, they had to stay at 9 chars.

[Rabit]

While FreedomeGunfire is correct, I like where you're going, MrLeRobot!

[HeroComplex]

Hey, if the "v." means the two Prime Warden teams have to engage in a lengthy litigation over the rights to their name, I'd definitely read that book.

[FreedomGunfire]

Not helpful at all, but the "timevtime" makes me think of that old Cyndi Lauper song. 

[CodieH]

@HeroComplex

Hey, if the “v.” means the two Prime Warden teams have to engage in a lengthy litigation over the rights to their name, I’d definitely read that book.

In Re Prime Wardens

Who would be their lawyers?

[FreedomGunfire]

What if the nine 9-word clues arrange in the x grid in such a way that they spell out nine new words/phrases when read top-to-bottom?

[MrLeRobot]

Perhaps sign language that led to "SENTINELS" was there to point to the word Sentinels in the rulebook (with the letters NINES shadowed). It appears to me that we might have found the clues in the rulebook a little earlier than anticipated...?

[WalkingTarget]

I'm looking at the scan of the Villains rulebook, but don't have the other rules handy. Do they all have the company name in the format "greater/than/games" with the slashes like that at the bottom of the back cover?

Edit - nevermind, found the downloadable Enhanced Edition rules and it does the same thing.

[MrFettuccine]

@MrLeRobot

Perhaps sign language that led to "SENTINELS" was there to point to the word Sentinels in the rulebook (with the letters NINES shadowed). It appears to me that we might have found the clues in the rulebook a little earlier than anticipated…?

The NINES thing was mentioned pretty early on. I think that was one of the hints telling us everything would be nine letters and such. So I'm not sure if it is applicable here.

It looks like we have to tie the 9 cover names with Sentinels (from the sign language) but I'm not sure how one would go about doing that.

[MrLeRobot]

Maybe just my imagination, but isn't biomancer's hand position a little strange on the VotM rulebook? Another sign language maybe? I checked and it doesn't look like it's a letter...

[s.crystal37]

Could there be another clue on the "itscoming" page? That would be the "first page" we found and the url matches the title of this new page. Also, an alternate url for that first page was "beginning" and the last cover was the "end of the beginning."

[owen.stupka]

Awww man, I want a Super-Lawyer in this universe now.  the advocate? the legal beagle?

[Benhimself]

Well, every one of the cover names has at least three of the letters from SENTINELS in it. The distribution's not proportional, though. So that may just be a red herring. (They are kind of common letters)

 

gENocIdaL

harbINgEr

oddaLLIES

omNITroNu

TImEvTImE

fTadamaNT

bEThEgaTE

ENdofdayS

ScIoNSaId

[TheSoundOfTrees]

Could someone who has the Villains rulebook please verify that the same letters of SENTINELS are shadowed one the first page and on the backcover, please ?

They seem different on the PDF that has been uploaded, but I can't see well enough to be sure (I am not even sure if they all are shadowed or not).

[MrLeRobot]

All letters are shadowed on the back cover

[RySmith6]

@TheSoundOfTrees

Could someone who has the Villains rulebook please verify that the same letters of SENTINELS are shadowed one the first page and on the backcover, please ?They seem different on the PDF that has been uploaded, but I can't see well enough to be sure (I am not even sure if they all are shadowed or not).

All of the letters are shadowed on the back cover.

Edit: Ninja'd =[ The amount of times this happens, it seems we should have an emoticon or something…