Mid-Range Game 18: Patji's Cauldron

[TheMightyLopen]

19 hours ago, Assassin in Burgundy said:

I agree. Using a "@" is much more effective since they'll get an actual notification from it. Poke voting basically does nothing. 

But it's not as threatening as putting someone's name in red. (You just can't beat that feeling of putting someone up for the lynch )

7 hours ago, Doctor12 said:

My thoughts on El? Hmm. Interesting. As El would know, I've always been wary of her, heh. The times she was aggressive, so to speak, was when she had a solid suspicion, eg:Wonko in MR17, me in QF19. So...to be lynch happy on day one does seem a little out of character for her. And throwing poke votes around? Well, I may not have been in many games with El, but I don't think I've seen her do it much.

And yet...if she is an eliminator, would she really have exposed herself so early? Still, it seems like a sudden bandwagon is forming on El, with Stink and Nyali voting on her, and Wonko being suspicious of her. I... @Elbereth, can you say something about this? 

Also, Wonko, I like your point about poke votes forcing discussion instead of an 'I'm here'. i was about to call you out for poke voting me after I've already posted, but your argument sufficiently convinced me. 

And @Ecthelion III, I'm keeping my vote on you as so far you still haven't contributed much to the discussion. Can I have your actual thoughts on STINK? Throw in what you think of Elbereth while you're at it.

Lastly, my eye is on @polkinghornbd because of what he said about his playstyle. As El said, this is not a game to not be proactive in  Commit something!

Well, Stink isn't voting on El. At least, not yet. Why'd you think he was?

Anyways, I'll vote on Elbereth. Polking. I'm curious to see if Nyali, Stink, and Wonko are right about her(well, I'm not certain if Wonko is actually suspicious of her, but it sounds that way). Kind of interesting that she didn't respond to Nyali's vote and Stink and Wonko's comments too. Maybe she was just busy.......in a doc?

@polkinghornbd, I've removed my vote from you, but I would like to hear if you have an opinion on Elbereth or anyone else. It's very important for everyone to speak their mind. Especially villagers. Because if they don't, the eliminators can just sit back and let the village kill each other off.

[Dani]

I'll let my C1 vote be guided by gut. Stick. I know she's almost always quiet, but every time she does post at least once without being poked. But not here. It's not enough to put a vote on for, but it's Cycle 1 and I've got nothing else. If she somehow manages to convince me that she's innocent, my vote will go on Elbereth (and being suspicious of El is leading me to be suspicious of Doc too, but that all depends on whether El turns out to be an Elim or not). 

[Stick.]

39 minutes ago, Daniyah said:

I'll let my C1 vote be guided by gut. Stick. I know she's almost always quiet, but every time she does post at least once without being poked. But not here. It's not enough to put a vote on for, but it's Cycle 1 and I've got nothing else. If she somehow manages to convince me that she's innocent, my vote will go on Elbereth (and being suspicious of El is leading me to be suspicious of Doc too, but that all depends on whether El turns out to be an Elim or not). 

sigh

y u do dis, Daniyah 

One vote isn't going to do anything to me :}

I barely ever post in C1s or on D1s (I cant get reads on people so early - I'm always more active in the later cycles) , and even if I do, it's mostly RP. And as for lynching, I've already repeated this in previous games, I don't think lynching anyone in D1's a good idea. Because from what I've been able to observe from the previous games is that D1 lynchees (is that even a word) mostly turn out to be villagers. So..yeah

mysterious white text...hehe I love white text. I wonder if anyone will ever discover this 

[Magestar]

17 hours ago, Alvron said:

Orlok. Magestar. How's your hand collection going?  Any chance of you increasing it this game?

This is just a poke vote, right?  I don't think I've even posted this game yet.

And yes, having your name appear in red gets much closer to giving you a heart attack than being mentioned.

So please mention me instead of poking me.  I'd rather not have a heart attack anytime soon.  I doubt I'll be increasing my collection, because the only method of killing is the lynch.  I'm having trouble gathering my suspicions RN, partially because I'm visiting family for Thanksgiving, and partially because trying to do two games in limited time at once in the time I have is messing with my gut reads.

However, I will say I'm currently more suspicious of Elbereth than Doc, if I'm reading this game right.

Sorry if my thoughts are somewhat jumbled.  I've not had more than 5 minutes at a time to type this over the course of several hours.

[Wonko the Sane]

All right, thanks Doc! See, guys? That's what a poke vote can make happen, wielded properly.

4 hours ago, TheMightyLopen said:

Anyways, I'll vote on Elbereth. Polking. I'm curious to see if Nyali, Stink, and Wonko are right about her(well, I'm not certain if Wonko is actually suspicious of her, but it sounds that way). Kind of interesting that she didn't respond to Nyali's vote and Stink and Wonko's comments too. Maybe she was just busy.......in a doc?

I'm not, really. I have noticed a shift in her playstyle, but I'm willing to chalk that up to just general variation and trying out something different. The points you make are valid, and I suppose I don't really have any experience with her as an Eliminator, but my gut says to give her the benefit of the doubt. I dunno, maybe my gut is a naive idiot.

36 minutes ago, I_am_a_Stick said:

I barely ever post in C1s or on D1s (I cant get reads on people so early - I'm always more active in the later cycles) , and even if I do, it's mostly RP. And as for lynching, I've already repeated this in previous games, I don't think lynching anyone in D1's a good idea. Because from what I've been able to observe from the previous games is that D1 lynchees (is that even a word) mostly turn out to be villagers. So..yeah

The D1 lynch has never been about killing an Elim. It's a tool to make people start talking, so that you can analyze the things they say and the way they vote. If no lynch discussion happens D1, then D2 just becomes the new D1.

[Stick.]

1 hour ago, Wonko the Sane said:

 

The D1 lynch has never been about killing an Elim. It's a tool to make people start talking, so that you can analyze the things they say and the way they vote. If no lynch discussion happens D1, then D2 just becomes the new D1.

Well yeah I suppose..but I'm still not suspicious of anyone right now, so I prolly won't vote.

 

[polkinghornbd]

First of all, it is SO confusing, with everyone talking about poke voting.  Have you noticed the similarity between poking and polking?  It seems like everyone is talking about me. Secondly, I have had a break from SE, and don't remember El's playstyle from before, but what's going on here doesn't seem too suspicious for me.  It seems like the typical bandwagon suspicion that happens in SE.  

[Jondesu]

19 minutes ago, polkinghornbd said:

First of all, it is SO confusing, with everyone talking about poke voting.  Have you noticed the similarity between poking and polking?  It seems like everyone is talking about me. Secondly, I have had a break from SE, and don't remember El's playstyle from before, but what's going on here doesn't seem too suspicious for me.  It seems like the typical bandwagon suspicion that happens in SE.  

Lol, I never considered that.

I do dislike bandwagons overall, especially without strong reasons, and while I'm keeping my eye on Elbereth, I'm not convinced.  I also don't really see a bandwagon forming on her, though, although it could turn into that.  I think we have two players with two votes on them each, plus a couple with one?  Here's my count:

Polking (1): Lopen

Doc (0): Elbereth, Wonko

Ecth (1): Doc

Magestar (1): Alvron

Elbereth (2): Nyali, Lopen

STINK (2): Ecth, Dani

Does that look right to everyone else?

Also, RP time!

---

Third of the Storm looked around as they continued to trudge through the jungle.  He'd chosen to mostly stand watch instead of trying to blaze the trail, which was a safer role to play.  It also let him observe the group and see the tension building.  None of these people trusted each other, it seemed, and they all seemed to have different goals of their own.  Third was no different, of course; he trusted no one, and he had his own purpose for being here himself.  His purpose was just simple: he wanted the money.  He was being paid, so he'd keep himself alive and as much of the group as he could, and he'd go home with more money in his pocket than he'd started with.  It was simple.

His life had been characterized by that kind of simplicity.  His slightly unusual name came from the fact that he was born in the middle of a three day storm, and no one had known whether it was morning, evening, midday, or the middle of the night.  Naming him of the Storm was the best his parents had been able to do.  He'd spent his life simply doing what came next; never much planning for the future or worrying about what might happen.  He just was, and the storm could rage around him or calm weather would come, but he'd simply continue being.

[STINK]

Alright, so now I can explain why I was suspicious of El

For the most part, it's due to how she says something along the lines of ' a change in playstyle is how you get eliminators' then follows that up by saying 'Oh my playstyle seems to have changed ' which felt forced to me, and by forced I mean 'Oh better acknowledge my changing playstyle so no-one can use it against me later on'. Which I think others have picked up on as well, so there's the main part of that explanation.

And apparently I missed the votes on me, probably because none of them seem to have actual reasoning. Or are we counting potatoes as reasoning? I can't even be bothered to respond to that vote. 

Anyway, seeing as it's a tie right now, I'm inclined to vote for El, but really those votes on me shouldn't be there so I'm not seeing it as a tie but more of el is up for the Lynch, so I don't wanna add to that.

[JUQ]

Alright, just to make it interesting, I'm voting for Elbereth.

[Dani]

1 hour ago, Jondesu said:

I think we have two players with two votes on them each, plus a couple with one?  Here's my count:

Polking (1): Lopen

Doc (0): Elbereth, Wonko

Ecth (1): Doc

Magestar (1): Alvron

Elbereth (2): Nyali, Lopen

STINK (2): Ecth, Dani

Does that look right to everyone else?

My vote's on Stick, not Stink  

[Jondesu]

1 minute ago, Daniyah said:

My vote's on Stick, not Stink  

Bah, I really thought I had that right.

Polking (1): Lopen

Doc (0): Elbereth, Wonko

Ecth (1): Doc

Magestar (1): Alvron

Elbereth (3): Nyali, Lopen, JUQ

STINK (1): Ecth

Stick (1): Dani

 

Edited November 22, 2016 by Jondesu

[Haelbarde]

Here's the official vote tally. Fortunately it lines up with Jondesu's, so yah! 
Vote Tally
Elbereth(3): Nyali, Lopen, JUQ
Doctor(1): Wonko
Ecthelion(1): Doctor
Magestar(1): Alvron
STINK(1): Ecthelion
Stick(1): Daniyah

Polking(0): Lopen{1}
Doctor(1): Elbereth{1}, Wonko{1}
Orlok(0): Alvron{1}
Ecthelion(1): Doctor{1}
Magestar(1): Alvron{2}
Elbereth(3): Nyali{1}, Lopen{2}, JUQ{1}
STINK(1): Ecthelion{1}
Stick(1): Daniyah{1}

A few notes:
> A reminder that a tie in lynch votes will result in one of the tied players being randomly lynched.
> Eliminator kills will happen before the lynch. 
> Two votes are required for a player to be lynched. 

Edited November 22, 2016 by Haelbarde

[Alvron]

15 minutes ago, Haelbarde said:

Here's the official vote tally. Fortunately it lines up with Jondesu's, so yah! 
Vote Tally
Elbereth(3): Nyali, Lopen, JUQ
Doctor(1): Wonko
Ecthelion(1): Doctor
Magestar(1): Alvron
STINK(1): Ecthelion
Stick(1): Daniyah

Polking(0): Lopen{1}
Doctor(1): Elbereth{1}, Wonko{1}
Orlok(0): Alvron{1}
Ecthelion(1): Doctor{1}
Magestar(1): Alvron{2}
Elbereth(3): Nyali{1}, Lopen{2}, JUQ{1}
STINK(1): Ecthelion{1}
Stick(1): Daniyah{1}

The "official" vote tally is wrong.  Wonko removed his vote from Doc here.

I'm going to keep my vote on Magestar for now despite him posting.

[Magestar]

4 minutes ago, Alvron said:

I'm going to keep my vote on Magestar for now despite him posting.

Would you mind giving a reason for this?

[Alvron]

Sure.  I have no suspicions at moment, I would really like Lor's hand returned and I need to get into the habit of voting more.

I would move my vote to Darkness as he's the only one not to have posted this round but it's too late to poke vote someone this round.  Unless things suddenly change that is.

[Haelbarde]

31 minutes ago, Alvron said:

The "official" vote tally is wrong.  Wonko removed his vote from Doc here.

I'm going to keep my vote on Magestar for now despite him posting.

Sigh... I thought I caught that. I think it was actually more an issue of having a couple of tabs open in the same topic - I ended up with 2 different drafts of the vote tally. I submitted the wrong one - the right one was here waiting for me when I went to reply...

Vote Tally
Polking(0): Lopen{1}
Doctor(0): Elbereth{1}, Wonko{1}
Orlok(0): Alvron{1}
Ecthelion(1): Doctor{1}
Magestar(1): Alvron{2}
Elbereth(3): Nyali{1}, Lopen{2}, JUQ{1}
STINK(1): Ecthelion{1}
Stick(1): Daniyah{1}

Elbereth(3): Nyali, Lopen, JUQ
Ecthelion(1): Doctor
Magestar(1): Alvron
STINK(1): Ecthelion
Stick(1): Daniyah

[polkinghornbd]

5 hours ago, JUQ said:

Alright, just to make it interesting, I'm voting for Elbereth.

This is suspicious to me.  What makes it interesting to vote for El? The vote was already going their way.  

[Jondesu]

1 hour ago, polkinghornbd said:

This is suspicious to me.  What makes it interesting to vote for El? The vote was already going their way.  

Maybe the fact that it turned it into a bandwagon, even though it wasn't really there before? I agree that it comes across as really suspicious, not really providing reasoning but throwing in a vote on someone who already had a couple is an easy way to try to fly under the radar.

That's the most suspicious thing I've seen this cycle so far, so my vote goes on JUQ.

[Doc12]

I...see a lot of people voting for no reason other than to place a vote, honestly. 

Alvron not taking his vote off Mage, Dani voting on Stick on a 'gut instinct', and JUQ voting on El to 'make things interesting.' Out of those, I agree with Jondesu that JUQ is acting most suspiciously. 

That said, the one solid lead I have so far is El's changed playstyle, and a lack of any defense from her. So I'm going to vote on Elbereth and take my vote off Ecth for now. 

Now, why am I voting on Elbereth, when she's already set to be lynched? Well, I believe that the lynch of Elbereth would be able to give us some information. The discussion so far has only centered on Elbereth, and if she's an Eliminator, I believe it would soft-clear Nyali, Lopen and JUQ. For example, I don't think that last vote from JUQ was one of bussing a fellow eliminator. Elbereth was already on her way to being lynched, and him voting on Elbereth would have solidified the lynch.  If Elbereth is a villager, well, the people arguing for her lynch just became more suspicious. Also, while Elbereth is leading the vote right now, it'd be simple for her to be saved with votes from the other eliminators. 

That said, I am really confused. Why has no one defended Elbereth, not even herself? That's what I find the most puzzling about the entire affair. It's almost enough to make me want to vote on JUQ too. But we'll see how it goes, I guess. I really wish Elbereth would say something.

That said, I really hope @Elbereth comes on before rollover. I want to know what she thinks of all this. 

[Haelbarde]

Cycle ended something like 10 minutes ago. I'll get something up shortly.

[Haelbarde]

Cycle 2 - Icebreaker

None one really said much. Discussion felt pointless. What was there to say, each and everyone wondered as the wandered through the jungle. A few conversations sprung up here and there, but the mood quashed them underfoot like the foliage.

"You know what we need?" A voice rang out. "An icebreaker! A game or something to get to know each other, you know!? I've heard of a good one - there's 2 teams. One team is randomly chosen, and know each other, and get to eliminate one person per round, while everyone gets to vote for someone else. I forget the details, but that sounds fun, right?!"

Silence. "Guys?"

First of the Noon appeared from behind some trees. "Sounds lame. Who's want to do that? No one would even talk! But we'll be stopping here for the next half hour. The path a head gets too dense. We need to work out a way around."

No one spoke as the trapper disappeared again. There were still no words as everyone made camp.
 

---

First of the Twilight - that was not her true name, of course; she had been born a Mainlander just like most of the others. But she was used to being called that, now. She’d lived among the trappers for so long. 

She patted her little night-seeing Aviar fondly, ignoring the discussion around her. Talk was immaterial. Actions mattered. And she was tired from standing guard last night. Her Aviar, unfortunately, made her an excellent choice for guard duty, and meant she was constantly tired. 

So she didn’t notice when the discussion turned to her, at first. Her, and the man murdered last night.  She still hated herself for that. She’d been on watch. She was responsible.

And it seemed someone else shared that opinion. Several someones, in fact. As she trudged along, the talk turned to action, without her notice. And hands thrust her into nearby brush. 

Surviving on Amaji had been one thing, with near-perfect knowledge of the territory and enough resources to get herself started on a home. Here? Where she didn’t know anything about her surroundings, and barely had enough food and water to last the day? Impossible.

By the time she extricated herself from the (fortunately mostly-harmless, excluding a few leeches which she could brush off without much trouble) bush, the others were long gone, and venturing after them was just as much of a death sentence as staying in place. 

First of the Twilight stared after them for a moment, then sighed. Perhaps she couldn’t survive long, here. But she couldn’t help but try. 
 

---

A couple days later, First of the Twilight lay in the dirt, feeling like a thousand needles were dancing over her skin. She’d been careless, and tripped over another trapper’s protective trap. In this case, that meant a whole pile of stinging nettle falling on her, followed by a few of its more poisonous and deadly cousins. 

It was not quick, nor painless. She hadn’t expected it to be. But she had survived by herself for two days on an unknown island, with no help and no resources to speak of. She died alone, but she died proud. And as she watched the blue sky above peeking through the thick canopy, writhing in pain, everything faded to grey, and she died.
 

---

Caught up in analyzing the notes she had on the muttering of that poor trapper who'd found something on this island, she hadn't kept track of the mood of the party until she noticed that First of the Twilight, a trapper from Amaji who'd signed on with the expedition, was missing. Upon enquiring, she'd found out that the trapper hadn't somehow gotten lost. Rather she'd been expelled from the party intentionally. Everyone knew of trapper rivalries - it was rare to find a pair of trappers who could cooperate enough to help guide a larger party through their island. So why was a trapper from a different island coming along? She should have payed more attention and stopped that from happen - First had been a valuable member of the team, providing a much needed watch during the night, providing their guides time to rest. And how necessary that overwatch had been was all to well demonstrated the next morning, when they found Link, another trapper, with his throat sliced, and his aviar crushed.
 

---

Link lay awake, staring at the stars above, as his trusty aviar murmed words to him about fantasical stories where he was a hero over a great land which one day would he rule over. He let the words flow over him, sending his mind on adventures even now as he drifted on to sleep. So wrapped up in the visions of glory, he didn't hear the squark of his bird getting grabbed, nor the sound of it's neck being broken. He did notice the hand roughly covering his mouth as a sharp blade was run over his throat. As the darkness enveloped him, he didn't struggle. He just let his mind wander free in the world of his creation...
 

---

Elbereth was lynched. She was a researcher.
Lopen was killed. He was a researcher.
Vote Tally:
Elbereth(4): Nyali, Lopen, JUQ, Doctor
Magestar(1): Alvron
STINK(1): Ecthelion
Stick(1): Daniyah
JUQ(1): Jondesu

Player List

 

1. Sean (polkinghornbd) is up for a Get Rich Quick scheme
2. Szeth-daughter-daughter-Neturo (Assassin in Burgundy) has a death wish
3. Rumberry (Ecthellion III) has a hand glued to their face
4. Doc (Doctor12) is criminally late to the party
5. This could also be you (Darkness Ascendant) is also a human gossiping  fungi at parties
6. Svetao (Daniyah) is eerily cheerful
7. Sherlock (Magestar) can't understand why the planet is named "First from the Sun"
8. Nyali (Nyali) will rest when she's dead
9. Stick (I_Am_A_Stick) is resentful of gingers
10. Dr. Bres Kalei (Wonko the sane) is abundantly proficient at doctoring papers
11. Third of the Storm (Jondesu) is proud of his heritage
12. Nannyberry (JUQ) leaves posters on trees
13. First of the Twilight (Elbereth) comes from the stars Researcher
14. Charlie (STINK) is functionally mute
15. Link (TheMightyLopen) has an aviar that tells tales of a legendary princess Researcher
16. Locke (OrlokTsubodai) is inexplicably faceless
17. Yazava (Alvron) is shrouded in shadow[/color=white]

Edited November 30, 2016 by Alvron

[Doc12]

Doc stared at the body of Twilight...First of the Twilight. 

He hadn't meant to. 

Why? 

Why didn't she say anything?

Twilight, Bossy Twilight. Admittedly, he hid it well, but he had always looked up to her, and the thought that she might have been a traitor had been too much to bear. Now she was gone, with barely a word spoken. 

And he had helped to kill her. Had argued against her. And now she was dead, and in the night the traitors had taken Link.

Link, who had always been the most cheerful of them, had told them stories about a magical land far away and a princess, had always hated pots of any kind, and loved playing music. Also gone. 

Disgusted at himself, disgusted at everyone, he knelt to pay his final respects to Twilight and Link, then assisted in burying their bodies in the tradition of the Ealakins. 

Finally, he returned to the group, staring at each member in turn.

"I did this. Me, JUQ and Nyali." He took a long look at the other two. "I am no traitor. This I know. But the two of you. One of you is a traitor. One, or both. I do not deny the possibility of Nyali being a traitor also. But her vote may have been well intentioned, like mine. No, I instead look to JUQ."

Before they could speak, he raised his hand to ward off their accusations. "I know I lifted my hand against her too. My claim to be no traitor, I do not expect you to believe at first. I hold myself responsible for her death, always. But now I look to the one who first raised her voice against Twilight, and the ones who piled on top of her. Link is cleared by virtue of his death. JUQ and I, we piled on afterwards. Nyali and I were suspicious of Twilight. JUQ raised his hand against my friend because it was interesting. For this reason," his voice cracked, "I decry you, JUQ, as a traitor."

[polkinghornbd]

I will also be voting for JUQ, at least until we get some more explanation on last cycle's action.

[Jondesu]

Sticking with my vote on JUQ from last cycle, for the same reason, especially since Elbereth was village (Explorer).