Long Game 11: Twinborn Village

[twelfthrootoftwo]

Considering that it doesn't look like we have any solid suspicions just yet, I think it's more important than ever to get everyone to start adding to the discussion. As such, I'd like to put forth a similar idea as I did in LG10, where those villagers that have killing roles are allowed a bit of carte blanche when it comes to killing inactives. This way, we'll at least learn who is just not talking and who is truly inactive. I think more people would be willing to speak up if they knew that there was a chance that if they don't, they could be targeted during the night. 

There's a disadvantage to this strategy that wasn't present in LG10 - namely, an opportunity cost. An action period spent attacking inactives is one that would otherwise be used for moving/sleeping/searching the room/other power use. It's still generally worthwhile IMO, since pressure on lurkers is always helpful. But for the Village to hold the line against the Spiked, our kill roles will need to put some thought into if they're happy to lose that period. There's also the possible risk of giving away the kill role's position.

 

It's not likely to have any effect, but I'll throw a vote on Nicroburst, since they've been online today.

 

Maill, did you manage to pull anything constructive out of your PM with Winter?

[vineyarddawg]

In theory, I'm generally in favor of the pruning of inactives.  In practice, though, I'm going to be rather sparsely involved myself over the next couple of cycles due to a medical situation (my wife having surgery), so I might not post in the main thread, but I'll still be talking as I can to the PM groups of which I'm a part.  So I'd appreciate people not killing me if I don't post over a cycle or two.  

[Clanky he/him]

Current Votes:

 

Nicroburst(1): twelwthrootoftwo

Luckat(1): Metacognition

Alvron(1): Clanky

Karlin(1): Mailliw

Sart(1): Alvron

Mailliw(1): Wonko the sane

 

 

So at the moment we have a 6-way tie with no one actually in line to be lynched. If it stays like this all it takes is one spiked to move a vote and they can kill any person on this list. Or if they can move two votes then they can kill anyone they want. So far none of these votes have really good suspicion for them so I can understand peoples hesitance for voting. However it is better to have control and get an innocent killed than to leave it fully up to vote manipulation and risk the spiked getting a free kill.

[Kandra Skrull]

None of you guys have made convincing arguments for your votes. I want to vote for someone that has already been voted so as to not let our vote be swung by the spiked but I don't want to waste my vote on a whim and end up killing a villager.

[Newan he/him]

Well, I call for it now (though we didn't really know this was an option before now). Considering I didn't get my PM until after half of the day was already gone (seriously though, that's a crazy difference in time, GMs), I suspect that most people have had the same. 

 

Thus, I'd like to give everyone, including those that are only kind of paying attention, a chance to weigh in. That way, if people agree with my plan for inactives, everyone has had plenty of time to come forward with objections, comments, or just to let us know they're alive before the next night! 

 

I know that, Meta.  I'm not going to complain about the workload that I gave to myself, but you should understand that I'm not dawdling when I do the calculations and the result PMs.  It takes a really long time, and I also need to sleep.  To send out all the PMs before going to bed would have meant staying up at least until 4 am.  

 

Extension noted.  The day will end at 8:00 pm PDT on Sunday unless it is pushed back again.  

[luckat she/her]

Sorry about being less active. I'm pretty busy with school right now. I'll have more time in about a week.

 

About Tulir, I pointed that out because I had voted for him earlier, and Wonko reminded me Tulir had said he would be away, so that was on my mind.

 

Clanky, you missed Jain's vote for Jaelre. So it's a seven way tie.

[Alvron he/him]

Alvron, I love the RPing you have going there. However you don't seem to be putting that much into actual strategizing or giving your opinions on things.  Also I don't think you have voted yet. Have you had no suspicions for anyone all game?

 

EDIT: I didn't notice your vote this cycle. Although it only seems to be a poke vote so my questions still stand.

I'm glad someone likes the Gravestones.  I tend not to give my opinions until I have something firm to base them on.  In LG10 I think I only voted once and that was at the end of the game.  I have several suspicions and have shared them with a couple of others via PM.

 

My main suspicion was and still is Sart as they didn't post at all until they were called out.  Now I understand being busy, I myself am fairly busy but I still manage to post once in a while.  Sart however didn't post anything for over two weeks and given the apparent reveal of powers by at least two of the spiked I'm thinking that at least one of the more experienced spiked is/was absent.  Of those Sart has been the quietest.

[Araris Valerian he/him]

Well, I totally agree with what Clanky said. We need to have the pressure of a potential lynch or people aren't going to feel as required to participate in discussion. To that end, I'm gonna look through the last cycle or two and vote for somebody that already has a vote. BEWARE!

[Surgebound Rainspren he/him]

We should focus on coordinating our votes. Having seven way ties like this one is like bringing a fish to a sword-fight; it may seem useful in theory but realistically is a waste of time.

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

I... I don't... What theory do you subscribe to in which that possibly seems useful?

 

Alvron makes a good point about Sart. I'm not committing there for now, because I want to hold my vote to use somewhere it will help, instead of just putting us in a different seven-way tie. I think that that's a valid direction of inquiry, though, and if one or two of you decide to vote for him, you'll probably have my vote.

 

I will, however, pull off Mailliw73, though, because I'm not helping anyone there.

Edited April 19, 2015 by Wonko the Sane

[Araris Valerian he/him]

@Rainspren: I think that metaphor works better if you bring a marlin. Otherwise I don't think it is quite worthy of David

 

Also, we need to lynch somebody, and its not going to be because of my second vote on somebody. But that is a marginal possibility if nobody contributes. I'll take you up on that. I vote for Sart. I actually couldn't really find a good reason to vote for anybody that currently has been voted for. Those are all just poke votes, and while I doubt very many people would suspect what I do after last cycle, I don't want to do something blatantly counterproductive, either.

[Metacognition he/him]

Sorry about being less active. I'm pretty busy with school right now. I'll have more time in about a week.

 

About Tulir, I pointed that out because I had voted for him earlier, and Wonko reminded me Tulir had said he would be away, so that was on my mind.

 

Clanky, you missed Jain's vote for Jaelre. So it's a seven way tie.

 

Fair enough, Ella. I did say that there was a possibility of it being something innocent after all. That doesn't mean Tulir isn't a Spiked though and since we know he's back, I'd like to know why he's being so silent. We didn't not lynch you, Tulir, just so you could hide in the shadows!

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

Oh, okay, it was a bad metaphor; I can't believe I didn't get that. Don't I feel foolish. 

 

Really, though, David always has a totally valid explanation, so let's hear it, Karlin: How would a fish seem, in theory, useful in a sword fight?

 

As promised, I'll support Araris in putting pressure (and maybe the lynch) on Acer Tuy. Like you say, there really isn't a lot of compelling evidence against him, but right now, there's not a lot of compelling evidence against anyone. Additionally, what Alvron said about him being a little too quiet struck a chord with me as I realized that, until his post Friday evening, I had literally forgotten that he was playing this game.

 

After a quick reread, it's not hard to see why: In the entirety of LG11, he has made a grand total of two posts. One of these was his short, cagey defense this cycle. The other was his character introduction before the game even began. Sart, a veteran Elimination player -- whose profile page tells me that, of the 174 posts he has written on 17th Shard, 149 were made in the Sanderson Elimination forum -- has been, in a very literal sense, totally and completely silent for this entire game. This strikes me as odd behavior.

 

He hasn't just been forgoing the main thread in favor of PMs (although even if he was, I would argue that such behavior is damaging to the Village). He himself freely admits that he's 'not in a bunch of PMs'. His only defense for his lack of involvement is that he's been busy. Now, I fully understand that real life trumps the game, and when other players have put it forward to explain their relative inactivity, I've taken it in stride, deciding that I'd rather be duped by an unscrupulous Spiked than risk lashing out at an innocent player who just has their priorities in order.

 

But this isn't 'relative inactivity'; This is just flat-out not playing the game. If you honestly don't have time to do anything but idly watch the game go by, I think you need to consider that you just aren't able to play right now. I applaud your diligence and sense of responsibility, and I'm sure I'd love to play a game with you when your calendar is more free, but signing up for the game, then refusing to take part, just hurts the Village.

 

I've nothing against Sart -- and my suspicions of him are actually less compelling than for some other players -- but unless he starts taking at least an occasionally active interest in the game, I'm afraid I won't be sorry to see him go no matter what his alignment turns out to be.

 

EDIT: Realized that 'Sart' is not his RP name. I guess it must just be the common nickname for him?

Edited April 19, 2015 by Wonko the Sane

[Bort he/him]

My vote this cycle is for Sart . The comments about him here have convinced me.

[spencer12347 he/him]

Sart. I'm sorry but the comments are to incriminating. 

 

EDIT: Thanks Panda. 

Edited April 20, 2015 by spencer12347

[Lightsworn Panda he/him]

Spencer, you might want to red your vote.

 

Did someone ask for an extension? I'm sure the Cycle should be over.

 

Edit: Nevermind.

Edited April 19, 2015 by Lightsworn Panda

[twelfthrootoftwo]

I'm not too impressed with this bandwagon on Smart. The only useful reason that has been proposed is Alv's point about the probability of an inactive experienced Eliminator. He might be the best choice of the possibilities, but a slew of votes with no counterarguments isn't usually a good sign. That said, Smart has had nearly a day of being the lynch target, and hasn't said anything for himself. And his defence from earlier wasn't exactly convincing. (The lynch isn't going to change between now and the rollover, but it's worth giving my thoughts anyway.)

 

 

 

There was no need to be sneaky now. After Mayor Gund had caught her snooping around his house, Kirrah had set to work. Now she had a drawing of the strange symbol, large enough to cover her back. Time to gather some attention, then. She picked up her banjo and headed for the town square.

 

The mood in Twinborn Village was optimistic. Two of the Spiked had already been found, and there couldn’t be that many more around. But they weren’t ready to celebrate yet. Many of the more withdrawn Twinborn had been called to speak, though only a few had acquiesced. Kirrah strode into this debate, banjo in hand.

 

“There’s something more than the Spiked going on here! Sure, we can focus on them for the moment, but what happens when they’re all gone and these deaths are still happening? If you realise there’s more to this mess than meets the eye, take a look at this symbol! It’s been involved in at least one…”

 

As she spoke, she turned in a slow circle, so everyone could get a look at the drawing stuck to her back. Most just rolled their eyes and returned to their discussion. She caught an odd look on Lord Penrod’s face, though, before he turned away.

 

“…Gund in the middle of it! There’s no such thing as holding the line here. If we don’t take action now, it’ll be too late! He’ll control all our minds, then use his new Aon machine, and then you’ll wish you’d done something about it!”

 

None of the villagers were paying her any attention now, even with her banjo to help. Well, she’d spread the message. Now to go find some other people to harass. It was probably worth making a comment on the Spiked before she left, though. It wouldn’t do to be so close to uncovering the truth only to be killed by a hemalurgist. “I’ve seen that Nimiad guy walking around, but he hasn’t shown his face. Anyone know who he is?”

 

-----

 

Had she actually achieved anything? It was hard to know. She’d managed to corner just about everyone in the village and give her spiel. Nobody seemed to know anything, though, and they were too preoccupied with the Spiked to challenge Gund. She hadn’t even noticed any strange looks aside from Lord Penrod. She would leave her banjo at home, then go find out whether the villagers had broken their stalemate over the Spiked.

 

“First of all, your picture’s wrong.” Kirrah gasped, and leapt backwards. Lord Ostrich was leaning on a wall, arms folded. She noticed a piece of colourful glass in his hand.

 

“W-wrong? What do you mean? Do you know about -”

 

“Yep. That’s not the new Aon. It’s close, but not quite right.”

 

“How do you know?” She instinctively held her banjo before her, as if it were a shield.

 

Lord Ostrich looked thoughtful. “I’m…not sure. But what’s important is that I do. Shall we speak more privately?”

 

Swallowing, Kirrah nodded, and followed Lord Ostrich as he moved away.

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

I agree with half-step (Can I call you half-step? I think it'd be a great nickname). Convinced you? Incriminating? What are you talking about? My whole argument was that there isn't any activity that could incriminate him. Honestly, I'm not actually all that suspicious of him; my vote is on him because I think his behavior is hurting the Village, whether he's Spiked or not.

 

That said, he has had plenty of time to defend himself. And it's not like he hasn't checked; 17th Shard shows him online at 1:42 PM today, by which time he had already been the majority vote for quite a while. Since then he has said nothing. I'm sorry, but if you don't have the time to play, then you don't have the time to play. Sart has still made only two posts across the entire game, and he has given no indication that he will be any more active in the future.

 

My vote stands.

[Sart he/him]

Alright, I'll admit it, I haven't been entirely honest with you guys. While it is true that I've been busy with real life, I had another reason not to post to the thread. I have a kill role. I was trying to go incognito for the time being, in order to help the village once more people had been verified as good. I don't have as many charges as I would like, but I have enough for a kill. Since, jaelre has been inactive for most of the game, I'll kill him in order to prove my innocence. If he really is inactive, and not faking it, then he should still be in B2. I will travel there, and kill him. If I kill him, then I will be verified. If I don't kill him, then he's faking inactivity as well, and we can work from there.

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

Well, that's ironic. Literally seconds after I make a final condemnation of your inactivity, you suddenly become active, and promise more activity.

 

How does being able to kill people prove you aren't Spiked?

 

*sigh* As long as you promise increased forum activity in the future, I'm willing to give you a chance. It may not make a difference, though; you shouldn't have waited until this close to the end of the cycle. Sart.

 

I'll move my vote over to jaelre, another two-post player, although one with less of a history of high activity.

[spencer12347 he/him]

I'm taking my vote off you Sart, new information has proved to me that your innocent. 

Edited April 20, 2015 by spencer12347

[Aonar he/him]

And the Day is over! With the last minute vote changes, the write-up might be a little late, but hopefully not as bad as it has been.

[Aonar he/him]

Night Six: Third Time's Not the Charm

 

With two successful lynches under their belt, the villagers were starting to feel pretty good about themselves. Unfortunately, this time around, they didn't have much to go off. For much of the day, they discussion was split between several parties.

 

Acer, a man few knew anything about, aside from his apparent commitment to protecting the village, and his strange love of amphibians?

 

Jaelre, the warden, who had basically disappeared since the trouble had started?

 

Rolan, the headstone carver? While he hadn't done anything immediately suspicious, he was a bit of a recluse, and everyone could agree that his obsession with death was rusting creepy.

 

Temai, Lord Mattias' grape-peeler? He'd had perfect access to Mattias for his death, and no one would have been surprised if he snapped, given how demeaning his job was.

 

The debates in favour of Temai and Jaelre never really got off the ground, and although Rolan's case did gather some surprise support, Acer was the one people kept coming back to. He'd proclaimed his dedication ti the village early on, but since then, he'd done nothing to act on it, apparently busy with his amphibian hatchery.

 

As the day drew to a close, they set out to find Acer. The hatchery, however, was empty. A few words were hastily scrawled into the the rock walls of the cavern. They read: I have a suspect. Going to try to take them down. Please don't try to stop me. Or kill me, for that matter.

 

Intrigued, they decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, despite the creeping sense of failure in the back of their minds as another day was wasted.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

No one was lynched!

 

Acer: (1) Rolan, Bort,
Jaerle: (2) Jain, Acer, Wonko
Rolan: (2) Cylkan, Malrick, Hadrian
Temai: (0) Kirrah, Millie

 

You have twenty-four hours from now to get your actions in, and the night will end on Tuesday the 21st at 10:00PM CDT, unless someone calls for an extension.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Aonar Faileas

[Araris Valerian he/him]

So unless I'm misunderstanding the writeup, I got rioted by somebody.

[Bort he/him]

Dammit, the first time I've slept in this game, and half of you chicken out on the lynch, making my vote useless.

 

Bah! I'm going back to street art.