Mid-Range Game 57: Helvegen

[Amanuensis]

I don't think the JNV kill was meant to get you caught. I think you were hoping that I would get voted out yesterday instead of TUN and you had to kill JNV since he was the biggest e!TJ pusher + consensus Village.

I can only assume your plan was use your "e!Mat paranoia" post near the end of C5 as a springboard to reignite your Mat bussed Araris theory and get TUN on board with it. Orlok was always going to be a wildcard, but he very nearly got filtered out anyway, so you might have been hoping to just deal with a 3 player scenario instead of 4.

Either way, after Mat and I consolidated, you had to commit to the JNV kill anyway because any other death would 100% result in you getting voted out today. The fact remains that e!me would never kill JNV before Mat because JNV would have voted along side me, whether that was on you or Orlok. Meanwhile, you could never convince JNV to vote with you, but you could convince Mat and Orlok like you are trying now.

But yes, my voting record wasn't great. I did play a huge role in the C3 vote of Bort however, even if I didn't vote him in the end. Stick and I kept our votes on Orlok for as long as we did to see if Bort's partners would try to save him, but our bait was ignored. I don't know if Stick passed this info to Mat, but it's true. If you look at the last few of her posts, she said I would need to die next if Bort flipped Village - that's because I was pushing e!Bort a lot behind the scenes, but didn't want to let Bort's partners know we set up a trap.

Every yeet since then has been clearing PoE, which was collectively agreed on. I did not want Xino yeeted C4 however, that one happened beyond my control; had TUN gone first, C5 would have been very different. The biggest thing was you trying to get Mat to vote me out just to prove Mat was Village. You didn't even suspect me, just wanted to "end your paranoia of Mat." I find it very hard to believe any Villager would risk misyeeting me when they don't even suspect me just in the off chance of proving someone they suspect is evil. You would just try to get me and others on board with yeeting Mat.

If I'm wrong and it's just e!Orlok, then I will be genuinely surprised. But the more I think about e!you and the more I look back at everything that has happened, it just all makes a lot more sense.

All I have left to say is very well played, friend. You lead me on a merry chase and made me believe I was crazy for even thinking you could be elim several times.

It's been fun, even when it's been torture

Edited April 5, 2022 by Amanuensis

[|TJ|]

Sigh, I'm done. Like Kas says, thread-brawling with Aman is bound to be an L.  My main points were towards Mat anyway. I'm just imploring you to make a careful decision. I feel I've done my best. 

1 hour ago, Amanuensis said:

The biggest thing was you trying to get Mat to vote me out just to prove Mat was Village. You didn't even suspect me, just wanted to "end your paranoia of Mat."

Just for the record, I didn't get Mat to do anything, and don't shorten the reasons to just this. It was a combination of re-reading D1 and realizing Xino felt village + my next suspects on this list were Thaid, TUN, you and Mat, with TUN and you being the only votes that would get support, and I preferred to vote you out over CC-ing TUN. 

Mat PMed me asking how on boarding I'd be for Aman lynch, and asked to look at him if Mat was killed. I said I had him in second tier suspicion and that I was starting to look closely at him, then I re-read D1 and dismissed xino and decide to go for Aman among my list of suspects because of the above mentioned reasons. 

1 hour ago, Amanuensis said:

All I have left to say is very well played, friend. You lead me on a merry chase and made me believe I was crazy for even thinking you could be elim several times.

This reeks of Hyena btw. 

[Mat]

7 hours ago, |TJ| said:

Okay this is important so listen up. If you think I'm solo elim, remember I revealed my role as Elder as early as C2. Also remember we're going by the hypothesis that last elim member in a 3-person team is a Veteran because distribution is not balanced for a normal 3p elim team with Fang system. There's zero reason for elim!me to fake-claim as Elder being a Veteran, especially when there was a chance I could be voted out. I'd be immediately caught in my lie when a lose my life, get voted out again. Zero-profit move it is for e!Veteran!me to make. 

This thought did cross my mind, yeah

7 hours ago, |TJ| said:

And the bolded part just annoys me smh :P. No, he doesn't deserve to win, because we have him in our sights. Don't be afraid to vote for him smh.

That's kinda why, imo- I mean, digging me out of that tunnel couldn't have been easy, any alignment. I'm not afraid to vote for him, just it's hard when every single post changes my mind again xD I think that if I'm this confused, the elims have played well enough to deserve to win, but that also doesn't mean I throw in the towel and give up.

1 hour ago, |TJ| said:

This reeks of Hyena btw. 

A lot of his play has.

Amanuensis.

May this be my final answer >> You make valid points. Tonally, I've read Aman village the last few cycles but I absolutely did not in the earlier ones. You've always been about the same, where Aman could have switched consciously because of my read. There's little things I noticed like putting a  after every paragraph that seem... designed to provoke a village read, and last cycle I kinda ignored them. For some reason. Because they worked, that's why.

Ah well. Here we go.

[Kasimir]

5 hours ago, |TJ| said:

Like Kas says, thread-brawling with Aman is bound to be an L.

I have views on this. I'm aware Orlok does too.

But recent events that potentially involved a change in my usual historical alignment and corruption by Orlok have changed my views on threadbrawls. No comment on personal views on threadbrawling Aman in particular.

3 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

May this be my final answer >>

You're tempting me to do the next write-up Slumdog Millionaire style >> Must resist...

Edited to add: Oh yeah sorry got too excited making sarkastic commentary and forgot why I was supposed to post. You have slightly over twenty two and a half hours left in the cycle!

Edited April 5, 2022 by Kasimir

[Amanuensis]

Nothing I've done this game reeks of Hyena I kept ignoring this statement from Mat because it comes from a place of paranoia and not logic =/ but fair enough TJ, it's worked to switch Mat back to your side so I won't fight it. I did my best this game and I've finally voted the last elim so I can die knowing that I was right and that's all I need

If anything has changed, it's that I've finally had the Eureka moment I needed. This is C3 of MR56 when I realized Archer had lied to us from the start and needed to die. Not even Kas trusted me then because I was "pushing too hard," and I was pushing too hard because I was confident. I am confident now, and this is how my confidence manifests

Since I'm no longer convinced that Orlok is on a team with TJ, I am fine with this. Village can still win via RNG (unless Veteran!TJ) and even if we lose, it's not my fault. TJ played excellently, so it is well deserved I'm just glad this game came down to the wire because those games are a lot more fun than one-sided stomps.

Anyway, I've said my piece. I've done my part. My watch has ended.

Can't wait to finally be in the dead doc I haven't been in a game for this many turns for a very long time and it's been weird.

Sweet, sweet release

[Orlok Tsubodai]

Cycle Summaries (cont.):

Cycle Four:

1) Matrim recognises he looks bad from being connected to Bort, commits to rethinking.
2) Aman expresses glee at catching an eliminator. He suggests Orlok bussed an elim for the second game in a row, and asks for answers to his questions yesterday. Reads Thaid as top trust, then Orlok/Matrim, TJ/JNV, TUN/Xino lowest trust. Claims he and Stick were right, and TUN is last eliminator by PoE. Moved Xino down because he's been a non-factor, suspects Xino trying to replicate Orlok clear from Araris' death. Thinks JNV not voting is notable, votes on TUA.
3) Thaidakar votes on Orlok.
4) Matrim struggles with conclusions from re-reading. Commits to not reassessing Orlok except at LyLo for Araris and pushign Bort. Feels Thaid disconnected, with vil-slip moments. Thinks JNV trying, gets village vibes. Thinks all of JNV, Thaid, Orlok are villagers. Gets a gut village read on TJ, is sympathetic to his confusion, but thinks TJ has been on the wrong side of debates and EoDs. Stopped form firm village reads by similarities to LG83. Doesn't like how Aman e!read Bort but voted on Orlok. Gut elim read. Wants to ISO Xino. Thinks he's generally under the radar, thinks he elim read Bort yet voted on TJ. Votes on Xino, commits to reaffirming it or changing it after an ISO.
4) Xino is suspicious of TJ's elder claim.
5) Aman notes that with e!Elder!Araris, the existence of Village Elders is abitrary, and so this isn't a point against TJ. Thinks the lack of veterans is notable, but tat the game had a small roster, and we've only had 6/14 flips. Claims Veteran.
6) Thaidakar finds Aman's veteran claim suspicious, votes on him for it.
7) Aman claims that his veteran claim was an IKYK.
8) Thaidakar misunderstands.
9) Aman spells it out.
10) Thaidakar thinks it's Aman trying to turn away suspicion.
11) Matrim thinks it interesting that Aman claims to think he's a NK target.
12) Aman claims he is because he's ramping up on the game, and that he's a big part of why Bort was voted out.
13) JNV trusts Matrim, doesn't think an eliminator would be so obvious in moving off Bort. Thinks it unlikely that Bort and Orlok are evil unless Orlok really likes bussing. Thinks Aman is the only player that really feels village. Might be bad memory becuase remembers emotions well, facts not well. Can't see Archer kill coming from TJ. Thinks way he was arguing against Aman and TUN possibly evil. TUN possibly evil alone. ISOs Xinoehp, votes on him.
14) Aman hadn't noticed Xino defending Bort D1. Wants to deep dive Xino, suggests JNV may be pocketing him.
15) Matrim thinks Xino's D1 Bort defence is moot, as everyone was.
16) Aman needs to reread D1.
17) Matrim ISOs Xino, focuses on reads progression. Notes Xino left Araris out of D1 reads, but put him as evil when this was pointed out. Xino was first person to v!read Bort, did so when Bort had two votes. C2 village tier nearly identical - might be elim being lazy with new list. Notes Xino never articulated moving Stick up his list. Is suspicious of Xino's reasoning for his C1 Araris bucketing. Calls out Xino shifting Bort down in second list for bad vibes. Thinks C2 progression natural. Notes Thaid stayed in Xino's list, despite vil-slips. Is happy with vote on Xino, thinks well within PoE. Potentially e/e with Orlok, not with TJ or Thaid.
18) Xinoehp votes on TJ.
19) Thaid is convinced by Aman, votes on Xino.
20) Matrim asks Xino why he isn't voting on TUN or Aman, as no chance of TJ lynch, surely he'd want to self-pres?
21) Xino doesn't feel it as still village loss if v!TJ lynched C4, v!Xino C5.
22) Aman asks Xino who he thinks is an eliminator. Doesn't like three of his town reads voting Xino - gets village vibe from him. Asks TJ what he thinks of Xino tunnelling him, given TJ spent the game tunnelling Stick/Archer.
23) Aman thinks one elim between TUN and Xino, TJ fourth elim if Xino flips evil, as Xino might be trying to distance TJ. If Xino town, then just TUN, or TUN +someone pushing Xino.
24) TJ replies to Aman suggesting he spent game tunnelling Stick/Archer. Thinks different to Xino, as TJ had wider PoE. TJ's current PoE is TUN, Xino, Matrim, Aman, votes on Xino. Matrim in PoE for Bort defence. Edits, changes mind, votes on Aman.
25) Matrim votes on Aman without explanation.
26) Xino votes on Xino.
27) TJ's gut says Xino village. Thinks Orlok not elim unless e/e with Matrim, which isn't possible because Matrim went after Orlok C3. Remaining players are TUN and Aman.
28) Matrim's vote on Aman is for gut that refuses to go away. Thinks Aman's play reminds him of Hyena more than any other game. Aman's votes don't match what he's saying - vocally suspects Xino, votes on the inactive. Confidence in being NKd. Wanted PM with Orlok but didn't send Orlok one.
29) Xino retracts.

C4 thoughts/notes:
#2. Strongly dislike tying himself to Stick - feels like piggybacking on village cred.
#3 - I'll regret this one day, but never ever clear Orlok from having voted on or pushed eliminators. Have you all forgotten my eliminator doctrine?
#4 - evidence for 3v1V?
#10 - I really struggle with Thaidakar's playstyle, but however he does it, this game has had him voting correctly on Bort and Aman. Note to all to pay attention to his votes a little more charitably going forward.
#12 Aman was also the third vote on Orlok. Not privy to PMs, but as a general policy, Aman is lethal if allowed to manipulate in PMs.
#13 - see #3. More importantly still, when analysing Aman, always look at the facts, not the way he makes you feel - indeed, if he's making you feel something, take a cold shower, and be very wary.
#14 - where has Aman got his certainty of e!TUN from? Very low hanging fruit, setting up a mislynch.
#24 - less likely Aman/TJ e/e.
#28 make me highly doubt Aman/Matrim (although I've already ruled out)

C4 Conclusions:

Increasingly can't see Aman/TJ. Very surprised to see Aman still alive C6 after a C4 like this.

Running out of time, so will do a bit of C5 for myself, then a few posts from this cycle. Will finish this next cycle (or even in the aftermath, for fun).
 

[Kasimir]

1 minute ago, Orlok Tsubodai said:

#3 - I'll regret this one day, but never ever clear Orlok from having voted on or pushed eliminators. Have you all forgotten my eliminator doctrine?

Sir, 

#1. I know your Evil doctrine. 

#2. I will clear you as I damned well please and live with the consequences

2 minutes ago, Orlok Tsubodai said:

#13 - see #3. More importantly still, when analysing Aman, always look at the facts, not the way he makes you feel - indeed, if he's making you feel something, take a cold shower, and be very wary.

Cold shower, you say?

:thinking:

[Orlok Tsubodai]

Cycle Summaries (cont.):

Cycle Five:

1) Matrim wonders where the Veterans are, is confused why Xino didn't self pres. Doesn't think TJ and Aman are e/e.
2) Aman expresses confusion.
3) Matrim votes on Aman, can't see his votes from a village perspective. Doesn't see v!Aman staying parked on an inactive C4. Thinks v!Aman too invested in solving.
4) Aman votes on TJ. Puts JNV/Orlok top trusts, TUN middle, Matrim/TJ lowest. Accuses Matrim and TJ of hammering. Says Aman didn't move vote because couldn't be online. Kill must have come from Matrim or TJ.
5) Matrim notes Orlok or TUN could have submitted kill as were online within C4. Says Aman ignoring point, which was that he went for TUN to begin with. Aman chased side train. Pulls up historic posts showing some reasoning for TUN. Provides reasoning for not voting Xino. Asks TJ why he joined Matrim, who he was suspicious of, in voting on Aman.
6) Matrim thinks Thaid kill makes sense from any PoV as was unanimously trusted.
7) Aman votes on Matrim, argues Matrim tunnelling on him, and that such a tunnel must only be fabricated. Brings up Matrim's post voting on Orlok defending Bort, suggests partnered with Bort. Accuses him of pushing lynch on Xino, then trying to get Aman voted out. Says only possible Araris busser, yet Thaid was killed over Matrim. Apologises to TJ for doubting him about the Araris train being corrupt.
8) Matrim thinks Aman's points tangential to what he's quoting.
9) Xino votes TJ. 

C5 thoughts/notes:
#3 - haven't got there yet, but how on earth did Aman wriggle out of this and have you voting on TJ for the first half of this cycle after this, @Matrim's Dice?
#6 Thaid also a wildcard at LyLo.
#7 - apologies from Aman....

---

Not going to be able to come close to finishing this before the end of the cycle, unfortunately.

---

Pre end-of-cycle conclusions:

TJ/Matrim not e/e. TJ/Aman not e/e. Matrim/Aman not e/e.

Overall, Aman is most definitely evil, and isn't evil with Matrim or TJ. As such, I ought to vote:

TJ

---

On 03/04/2022 at 2:54 PM, |TJ| said:

Mmrghhhhh @Orlok Tsubodai, help pls ;-;

I feel like Mat and Aman are both playing me like a fiddle >> and I really don't wanna be the guy that decides the game the wrong way >>

Sorry I'm late :/
Really, truly, wish I'd been around.

28 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Sir, 

#1. I know your Evil doctrine. 

#2. I will clear you as I damned well please and live with the consequences

Cold shower, you say?

:thinking:

You've just been in two elim docs with me! Of course you know it!

[Kasimir]

Just now, Orlok Tsubodai said:

You've just been in two elim docs with me! Of course you know it!

Two?

But...but I only...But...LG20 was in 2016 bro, that doesn't count...

[|TJ|]

1 minute ago, Orlok Tsubodai said:

Overall, Aman is most definitely evil, and isn't evil with Matrim or TJ. As such, I ought to vote:

TJ

Huh, wait what???

[Mat]

Yeah idk

Aman/Orlok e/e potentially? Lol

Staying on Aman, let’s see how this goes :P.

[Orlok Tsubodai]

4 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Two?

But...but I only...But...LG20 was in 2016 bro, that doesn't count...

I think someone else is going by your name in the darkfriend doc, then...

4 minutes ago, |TJ| said:

Huh, wait what???

1 minute ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Yeah idk

Aman/Orlok e/e potentially? Lol

Staying on Aman, let’s see how this goes :P.

Potentially?

[Kasimir]

[The cycle has ended. As a heads-up, the Aftermath will take longer, owing to the insane number of coins I have to flip, and the three write-ups I owe. Please relax and in the meanwhile, know that I am very proud of all of you.]

NOW THE GREAT LORD COMES. 
NOW THE GREAT LORD COMES.
BLOOD FEEDS BLOOD.
BLOOD CALLS BLOOD.
BLOOD IS, AND BLOOD WAS, AND BLOOD SHALL EVER BE.
NOW THE GREAT LORD COMES.

[Amanuensis]

Wait what

[Kasimir]

2 minutes ago, Amanuensis said:

Wait what

Sir, the cycle has been closed.

Go back and sit in your Evil doc with your bro and reflect on your actions >:(

[Kasimir]

Aftermath: A Desolation Called Peace

NOW THE GREAT LORD COMES. 
NOW THE GREAT LORD COMES.
BLOOD FEEDS BLOOD.
BLOOD CALLS BLOOD.
BLOOD IS, AND BLOOD WAS, AND BLOOD SHALL EVER BE.
NOW THE GREAT LORD COMES.

—words written in blood on the walls of an inn in the abandoned village of Helgen

 

 

Locke led, and Wyden followed.

It felt good.

It felt good to be doing something again, as though he was pushing back, however weakly, against years of forcing himself to keep breathing, years of keeping himself alive, years of guilt at how he’d broken, how he’d survived when the garrison died, when the Trollocs put entire villages to the sword.

It felt a little like redemption.

If there was even such a thing, for one such as he.

Locke ran, and Wyden ran after him, willing both of them to be just a little faster, praying to the Light that they would make it in time, before Lin Mindrigurin did anything, before the mayor did anything to the survivors.

They had not acted overtly so far, Wyden thought. His scars itched. Surely this would continue?

There was a shadow in the street.

Locke drew to a halt.

Blood dripping from his sword, still screaming, Edler attacked.

More from instinct than anything, Wyden’s sword slipped free from its sheath in Unfolding the Fan, and Reaping the Barley beat aside the onrushing Stones Falling from the Cliff.

“Edler!” Wyden shouted.

But the Warder had gone battle-mad, and Wyden saw no recognition in his eyes, only a grim focus. Parting the Silk nearly tore into Wyden’s side, and Water Flows Downhill split open his cheek in a welter of blood.

Dimly, he remembered Gaidin’s lessons at the garrison. A Warder who lost their Aes Sedai could go battle-mad, Gaidin explained, curtly. Distantly. They lashed out in an attempt to avenge their Aes Sedai. The saner ones knew friend from foe; simply sought to take down as many enemies as they could. Some of them lost the will to live, and became shadows of themselves and eventually wasted away and died.

Edler had gone battle-mad.

It wasn’t just Warders who broke, Wyden thought. Sometimes, men on the Blightborder did. Sometimes, the world did terrible things to you, or the Shadow did. Sometimes, you broke, and then you could never quite put yourself together again.

He met Wind and Rain with the Oak Shakes Its Branches. He didn’t want to hurt Edler. He liked Edler. But Edler was doing his best to kill him, and possibly to kill Locke as well. 

“Go!” Wyden shouted.

“Will you be alright?” Locke asked, and then seemed to realise the folly of his question. “I’ll stop him. Light shelter you, Wyden.”

As Locke ran, Wyden turned aside Lightning of Three Prongs with Lizard in the Thornbush. 

He narrowed his eyes. “Edler,” he tried again. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

He threw himself back in time, as Plucking the Low-Hanging Apple grazed his throat, and drew blood. Thank the Light it hadn’t been worse.

He saw bodies on the street.

Ordinary people, villagers he’d known. Bodies strewn about like fallen leaves.

Wyden closed his eyes and sought the flame and the void.

But the oneness lay just frustratingly out of his reach.

 

 

“Apologies,” gasped Locke, as he closed the door of the meeting room behind him. He paused a moment to catch his breath. “I was held up.”

Mayor Wilsa glanced at him. “Where were you?”

“Gathering evidence,” Locke said. “Asking questions.”

He glanced at everyone in the room: Lin Mindrigurin, sitting comfortably in his chair, sword balanced across his knees, Rambler who was glaring daggers at Jóhannsson, and Jóhannsson, who was scowling at Lin.

Three people left, thought Locke. He had been so very nearly disastrously late.

“Lin’s of the Shadow,” Jóhannsson stated, flatly. “Locke, you have to see this. You were missing for so long, I was looking for you—”

“Sorry I’m late,” Locke said. “Really, truly wish I’d been around.”

He set his ledger down on the table.

“Lin Mindrigurin,” he said. “You hid well. But I know you for what you are, Darkfriend.”

 

 

Edler and Wyden clashed.

Wyden retreated, gave ground. He did not want to do this.

He did not want to fight. He did not want to kill Edler.

The Warder had been kind to him, when Wyden needed it. Surely that was reason enough for mercy. 

But Edler kept on pressuring him, flowing from form to form with a lethal grace that Wyden recognised in some of the best swordsmen. 

He’d only ever wanted a way to be good again, Wyden thought. He’d spent so much of his life running, fleeing what the Shadow had done to him. For some reason, it felt good to be taking a stand, even if that meant fighting Edler here and now.

Even if that meant stopping Edler.

The streets of Helgen were eerily empty, soaked in blood, and the fog was creeping in again, lending everything an air of unreality.

It had been years since he’d picked up the sword, and he was rusty but the muscle memory never truly faded, and the practice bout with Edler that day had helped, if only a little.

Still, it was all Wyden could do to keep Edler from killing him.

“Edler,” he tried again. He knew what it was like to be on the brink, to have lost everything that mattered, for the Light to have fled from the world.

He knew what it was like to be damned.

“Edler, snap out of it, man!”

Black Pebbles on Snow, angled differently, nearly took out his eye. Blood gushed from the cut above his eye, and Wyden swore, backing off. It was going to be hard, fighting Edler with that obscuring his vision.

He only hoped that he’d bought Locke the time he needed.

Rambler, Locke, and Jóhannsson. Perhaps they could take Lin or Mayor Wilsa by surprise.

He wasn’t sure. And that meant they needed him.

“I’m sorry,” Wyden whispered.

He didn’t know who he was apologising to. Perhaps it was Edler. Perhaps it was to the bodies in the streets. Perhaps it was to the garrison, or the villages the Trollocs had put to the sword; had massacred and then set ablaze.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

He was weeping, even as he fended off Cat on Hot Sand with The Falling Leaf.

Edler, in his own way, had given Wyden back his own soul again.

But Helgen was Wyden’s home now, and if he weighed Edler against Helgen, it wasn’t even a damned contest at all.

Perhaps the man Wyden had once been could have stopped Edler easily. He doubted it. Edler was a good swordsman, and there was always a risk when you weren’t trying to kill the other man, even as he tried very hard to kill you.

Light forgive him.

The numbness swept back in.

It wasn’t the oneness, but it would have to be good enough.

Wyden let it.

He let it wash over him.

The numbness, perhaps, was the way the soul defended itself. The way you dealt with the fact that terrible, terrible things had been done to you, and the fact that you had gone on to do the unforgivable. The way you dealt with the fact that somehow, mysteriously, inexplicably, you had been left to keep breathing.

Those years in Helgen, Wyden had lost the oneness, had lost the flame and the void.

Had lost the single-minded focus and dedication that was crucial, that elevated the best swordsmen into blademasters.

Before the numbness, before that old friend, even that faded away, paled into insignificance.

There was only Edler, and what Wyden had to do.

Wyden glided forward.

Wyden attacked.

 

 

“Lin,” Rambler scowled. “Don’t know how you talked me into damning Lorum. This ends here.”

“I’ve told you,” Jóhannsson snapped. “He’s been trying to turn us on each other all along. That is how he works.”

“Jóhannsson is unfortunately correct,” said Locke. “That is how Lin has been operating. I’ve traced his associates, and been asking questions about his movements over the past days.” He frowned. “It wasn’t particularly easy. But a pattern emerged. Just as anyone begins to ask questions about Lin, they disappear. Or he turns them into his allies and has them accuse others for him.”

Rambler flushed.

“I dug in the meeting records,” continued Locke. “And I found a very curious slip from Lin. He suggested that he’d found Buffy suspicious.”

“Buffy was suspicious,” Jóhannsson said.

“Yes,” Locke nodded. “Or so you went on record as saying. But—Lin said previously that he believes those instrumental in discovering Stern were of the Light. He also believed that you were no Darkfriend.”

“Can a man not change his views, Locke?” Lin drawled.

“Perhaps,” Locke said. “But your views change so suddenly, Lin Mindrigurin. One might wonder if they were sincerely held—or adopted whenever convenient, in order to shift opinion the way you wanted it shifted.”

 

 

The numbness enfolded him.

He was only a shadow of what he’d once been.

It would have to be good enough.

Wyden advanced. Every form was a step, an attempt to reach Edler, an attempt to end the fight. The longer things dragged out, the more he feared for Locke, Rambler, and Jóhannsson.

The Grapevine Twines met Dandelion in the Wind. Two Hares Leaping met the Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose. Tower of Morning flowed into Single Stone Standing, and parried The Kingfisher Takes a Silverback.

He was a shadow of what he’d once been, and Edler made him pay for it in blood as Wyden advanced.

But floating in the numbness, it did not matter.

Wyden did not fear death.

He’d died a long time ago.

Kissing the Adder rammed into his side; Wyden twisted just slightly but the sword slid home, and something tore.

Falling Embers scythed through Edler, and Wyden felt the resistance as sword met flesh and parted it without stopping.

Edler fell, blood gushing from the large slash that Wyden’s blade had rent open.

Wyden held on the numbness.

The wound was not too bad, he thought. He could still function. There was pain, from where the sword had torn free. It did not matter.

He was numb, now.

“I’m sorry,” he said aloud, once more. He flicked the blood from his sword, and knelt down to close Edler’s staring eyes. He could hurt, once he was done. “The last embrace of the mother welcome you home.”

But he still had one last fight to face.

And perhaps then, he would have peace.

 

 

Rambler stood up, drawing his knife. “Enough,” he spat. “He’s a Darkfriend. He mocks us with his presence. We should take him, now.”

“I’m not the one you should be worried about, Rambler,” Lin Mindrigurin said, calmly. Sword still balanced on his knee, still smiling serenely. As though he was too damnably clever. As though he knew something that Rambler did not.

“What do you mean?” Rambler demanded, warily.

There was a gurgle.

Rambler turned.

Jóhannsson toppled to the ground like a sack of grain at the harvest, blood pouring from his throat. Locke stood there, a dagger gleaming wet with blood in his hand.

“A Darkfriend?” Locke asked. “I think you’ve misplaced one in your count.”

“Why?” Rambler wanted to know. He glanced about him, searching for a way out.

Lin’s sword flashed free of its scabbard, and then he was on his knees, blood spilling out from his stomach.

Locke shrugged. “Because the Great Lord demanded it,” he said.

As though it was reason enough.

“Light damn you,” Rambler spat. “Light damn you all, I trusted you, Light…Light…”

But there was no Light here in Helgen, not now, not in this room.

Instead, there was only Shadow.

 

 

Kaim was there.

Wyden staggered through the streets. He was losing blood at an alarming rate. And he was so very tired.

Kaim regarded him, frowning. The fog, as it had on that first meeting, seemed to curl about him, seemed to embrace him. 

Kaim was wrong. Always had been.

Maybe Wyden was wrong too. Maybe…

He realised he was on the ground, bloodied fingers reaching out.

“Why?” Wyden asked. It seemed to take a great effort.

“Because the past never escapes us,” Kaim said, hunkering down. His eyes met Wyden’s. “Because no matter how you run, the wrongs you do…you have to pay up one day, to balance the scales.”

“Did…Did I?”

Was it enough, Wyden wanted to ask. Did I do enough? Would he ever be clean?

“I think,” Kaim said, not unkindly, “All you have to do is want the Light, Wyden. And even if you can’t see the Light, all you have to do is to remember it was there, and that it will be there again one day.”

“Can’t…remember…”

“I told you I was here hunting a fugitive,” Kaim said. “Someone who had deserted, and betrayed an entire garrison.”

Wyden managed a nod.

“Go in peace, Wyden,” Kaim said. “As far as I’m concerned, that man is not the man before me right now.”

He wanted that to be true. Wanted that so badly.

He was in his room in the Tree again, looking out of the window, the morning sunlight on his face. He opened the shutters, and leaned out, reaching for it. Wanting it.

The Light was there, then, and it was always and ever only Light.

 

 

TJ/Jóhannsson was executed! He was a Village Elder!

Matrim's Dice/Rambler was killed! He was a Villager!

Quote

TJ (2): Orlok, Aman
Aman (2): TJ, Mat

The Darkfriends have won! Congratulations to @Araris Valerian, @Bort, @Amanuensis, and @Orlok Tsubodai! (Araris seems to have insane luck with RNGesus, FYI. The Sacred Coin went his way without me needing to do a second cointoss for the 1v1.)

All write-ups have been posted/edited in. I now may die in peace. Praise the Light.

Docs, mastersheet, and player list to follow in second post. Please do not post until I have reserved it. Thank you.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Kasimir

[Kasimir]

Dossiers:

Spoiler

• Darkfriend Doc
• Dead Doc
• Master Spreadsheet

Player List:

Spoiler

1. Thaidakar the Ghostblood - Daian Villager
2. The Unknown Novel - Lorum Ipsum, actually Lorumis Ipsimir Villager
3. xinoehp512 - Xin Village Elder
4. Matrim's Dice - Rambler, disturbed fellow Villager
5. @Orlok Tsubodai - Locke Darkfriend
6. @Amanuensis - Lin Mindrigurin, elderly veteran sometimes mistaken for Lan Darkfriend
7. Araris Valerian - Alain Stern, hardy woodsman Darkfriend Elder
8. Illwei - Wei Villager
9. Archer - Buffy, who has an intense fear of fangs Villager
10. JNV - Kai Villager
11. StrikerEZ - Eaton Strikk, a guy with a headache and worryingly murderous tendencies Villager
12. _Stick_ - Stieg Village Elder
13. Bort - Bortington the Blind Darkfriend
14. |TJ| - Jóhannsson, local composer Village Elder

 

Edited April 7, 2022 by Kasimir

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood]

that was fun! though the not fun part was dying 

[Mat]

>>

Who put Orlok, Aman, and Araris on the same elim team xD

Sorry for voting TUN, y’all. Idk if I’d have caught Orlok, but we’d have at least had a chance. I guess technically we still had a chance, but VC RNGs have been going the elims’ way for a few games now.

@Amanuensis, you’re insane  In the best way possible. You had me thanking you for getting me out of my tunnel when my gut was right all along, you had me CCing and doubting TJ when I had previously formed opinions on both. It was like the AG, except I didn’t have a MeerKas telling me to stay strong this time around. I’ll be… extremely careful the next time my gut doesn’t like you. Extremely careful. And we’ll see if I ever PM you again :P.

Again, apologies to the village and especially TJ and Stick, for blowing that by voting TUN, we had a good run. Getting Araris D1 was amazing  Even if Orlok was the only reason that happened. Thanks to all the people I had PMs with (even Aman… smh) and huge thanks to Kas for running the game and being so dedicated to the amazing writeups.

Praise the Light. At the next turning of the wheel, all will be put in proper order.

[JNV]

@Amanuensis I was lost in the wilderness and I thought you were too but no you were waiting all along and I thought wed stumble out together but the route I thought I chose was the one you made for us all along and as we walked deeper into the darkness with each step you promised light just out of sight and it never came and I dont remember why I trusted you I dont remember I dont remember but I did and that was our undoing and I tip my hat at you and for some reason Im not surprised 

Thank you for a valuable lesson. I will remember. And when I end up evil, turnabout is fair play.

 @Matrim's Dice @|TJ| Sorry I didnt listen to you as I clung to the only piece of certainty I thought I had in this world and only was convinced as the earth shifted beneath my feet and when the world reformed it left me behind the error is mine the error will always be mine and the past is our burden to carry 

I think Im getting a bit too melancholy great job elims that was impressive thanks to everyone else in the game that Im really blanking on right now and last and best of all

@Kasimir Thank you for a beautiful game

[Archer]

Quote

Aman/Orlok e/e potentially? Lol

got it in the end, Mat :P. 

--I think we got too bogged down in looking for bussers. Striker kill shouldn't have happened

--But... I think we lost two exe coinflips to get to this point as a village. So nobody be too hard on themselves!

--Orlok used math in our PM, so it remains a valid elim tell. It physically hurt to watch that discussion about Orlock being the only suspicious person on who could have NKed me go nowhere (even if it was actually wrong). By the way, congratulations to Orlocke, Bort, Araris, and Aman, y'all played very well. 

--I'd love to hear everyone's honest Fang philosophy. I was assuming the elims would hope it doesn't trigger in the near term and never vote for it, but would generally claim to have if it did activate. I figured then it only takes a few villagers who are inactive/forgetful/against it to make it so it doesn't happen C1. But I expected it to be close, within one or two of half if it didn't get activated. Which would then mean it'd be hard to fake claim having voted for the Fang. Anyway, I'm curious what y'all really thought about its activation

--You should always continue using group PMs even after someone in there has died - especially after someone in there has died - because I want to see your conversations :D.

--Curious what people think about the elims potentially skipping an NK to get to 2v:1e instead of 1v:1e. Reminds me of the last QF, where me not voting would have guaranteed a coinflip round instead of a certain win or loss. Is that gamethrowing? Is that smart strategy? 

Thanks for running this, GM, IM. I enjoyed it

[Araris Valerian]

My main comment about this game is that apparently I should never say that I'm going to be missing for EOD, or people will use that as an excuse to vote me off when I can't defend myself . And of course my team was amazing, nice work y'all.

For @Kasimir, thanks for running the game, and for some excellent writeups. Always a pleasure to play one of your games, even if they tend to really mess with my elim %.

3 minutes ago, Archer said:

I'd love to hear everyone's honest Fang philosophy.

As an elim, I think the best thing for us would have been a D1 Fang. For the village, what I argued in thread; D3 would have been ideal.

I feel like in execution the mechanic wouldn't quite have the effect that I was hoping for, even though the Fang never got used. I'm curious to hear Kas's thoughts on that.

[Kasimir]

GM After-Action Report

The Distro:

When RNGesus gave me an Aman/Orlok/Archer team, I looked at the distro and liked it. Common SE wisdom from my time is that Orlok and Aman always check each other, therefore cannot be on the same team. This wisdom has been shattered quite a bit by the recent V!Orlok/V!Aman teams in several games (MR56, LG83), but that received wisdom still holds. I liked the idea of an Aman/Orlok team. 

Archer? Not so much.

Here's the problem: first, at 100%, Aman and Orlok will dominate the thread. I looked at the Village roster and felt giving the Elim team Archer as well would've just screwed the Village over in the thread by substantively weakening it—in my view, Archer is a Village discussion driver and the Elim team had a substantive thread control roster. So I made the decision to swap Archer out for Araris. Araris, in my view, was a good swap. (On paper. In practice, he got C1ed, so RIP Araris.) An Aman and Orlok team is inherently volatile for several reasons that I had to factor in when modelling the distro: first, you're no longer dealing with peak Aman and peak Orlok, of the SE legendary days; second, it is in my view extremely foolish to expect both Orlok and Aman to be at 100% simultaneously (I ascribed that the lowest probability in my modelling), and you should be prepared for one of them to be low activity or MIA for part of the game; realistically, anywhere between 20% to 80% capacity, with 20% to 60% being more realistic. So as I said, that's an insane amount of volatility. Adding Araris in stabilised the team and ensured that (in theory...) no matter what, there would be one solid player on the roster, both emotionally and in terms of gameplay.

Swapping Araris off the Village roster also doesn't increase Village instability, which is good—I reckoned that a strong Village roster would be needed to combat this team. Archer and two power Villager pairs in Mat/Illwei, TJ/Stick seemed good to me. And if JNV, TUN, xino and the others brought their A game, so much the better! Keeping PMs open also ensured that the Village had a way of coordinating and discussing reads even with Elim thread advantage—as much as players complain about PMs replacing the thread, it's important not to underestimate how much a PM group dedicated to truth-seeking rather than corrupted by alignment-derived motives can get work done. (Hi, KGB PM from AG8!) In that sense, even if Aman and Orlok had held the thread in a death grip, any resistance or pushback was likely to originate from PM network groups. This Elim team was short on avid PMers, unlike the Village roster. I was absolutely okay with that.

Initially, I had a three member team in mind, but the moment I saw that this would be an Aman/Orlok team, I knew a fourth member was needed—either for the Fang, or because a team with Aman and Orlok will very likely need to self-cannibalise. It's important for GMs not to overestimate what strong players can do on an Elim team, so I factored that need in as well, and RNGed for the final player. This is how Bort was added to the team. My other two options from RNGesus were Mat or TJ. I rejected both of those as that disrupted the power pairs I wanted Village to have, due to their synergy in analysis. (I also thought TJ would go crazy if I made him Evil and I couldn't do that to my bro :|)

Three Village Elders and one Evil Elder was just honestly a lot of trolling. As the single Elim Elder, Araris basically made all the other Elders useless. I liked the idea of three Village Elders, just enough to make the Village feel they had some leeway where MLs and NKs were concerned.

The other interesting part of the distro—the fact there were zero Thugs. This was the one I went back and forth on the most. I'd run my intended distro past Wilson, El, Elan, Wyrm, and Devo. The biggest issue of dispute were how many Thugs to give the Village. Elan and I were leaning towards one, El suggested two maximum, and Wilson suggested zero. After running a number of simulations with pen and paper, I preferred zero Thugs. I felt that the team was volatile enough that the only world in which I'd prefer the Village to have more padding would be in a world where Aman and Orlok were at 100%, and that was improbable enough I wasn't going to worry too hard about it. Wilson, Orlok, and I have also learned a very harsh lesson in distro from LG20, where Maili put us all on an Elim team with Lopen and Alv, and then overstacked the Village roster with roles in order to compensate for this because (on paper) killer Elim team. I didn't want to do that.

Everyone whom I ran the team past went, "Oh, crap, that's one hell of a team."

I think the Village and the Elims both played very well, and I'm very proud of them  I believe I was correct in assessing that the Village roster was strong enough to push back against the Elims, and it went down to the wire, which in my estimation and Wyrm's, is normally a good sign for the GM.

I could say more about Wilson's more elaborate Elim team formula, but I won't. Suffice to say that while I do think basic synergy and other factors have to be calculated, and this team did surprise me by an extreme lack of synergy at points, I think this matters only when you get into the weeds of the distro, and a GM shouldn't be using that from the get-go.

PMs:

Everyone knows I love PMs  And there's been a lot of comments about PMs detracting from thread health. Which I think is a bit extreme—really, PMs are a tool with their own purpose: for rapid-fire discussion that can choke up a thread, for players to refine thoughts without having to deal with epistemically distortive pressures from Evil players, and for pocketing, and so on.

I think open PMs were really crucial for the Village at several junctures: I noticed early suspicion of Orlok and Aman being developed via PM conversations, likely because it would not have survived in a thread environment! The Elim team not having LOS into early PMs, too, proved to be a problem for them. I strongly believe that Orlok may have overestimated his Village cred and Village willingness to go for Bort due to not having PM insight—so no effective way of gauging where players' appetites really were. (But Orlok isn't by definition a PM-centric player anyway, so he gets a pass there.)

Once Aman got into the game proper, the Elims began to also abuse the hell out of PMs, with Aman beginning to nudge and shift player opinions via PMs, most especially via Mat. (RIP Mat...) As Orlok mentioned in his increasingly frustrated analysis in C6, Aman can be lethal in PMs, y'all, and it was an excellent display of what a player can also do with PMs when Evil.

Dragon's Fang:

This mechanic didn't exist and basically had no game impact after Araris died C1, so I don't really have much comment about it. Another reason I went for the Orlok/Aman team was partly because I didn't trust them not to badly screw over an Elim team with this mechanic in the game as Villagers  Perhaps the Fang will see more use on a rerun, and I have no real strong advice or thoughts because the Fang was really not a part of this game after C1.

I am starting to think though that Araris's original conception of the Fang as a leg-up for a struggling Village is unnecessary in this current player group. Village analysis has been fairly strong for the last couple of games and I am beginning to feel that Elim teams might need the boost instead. Not sure. Leave it to @Araris Valerian for further Fang thoughts.

Thoughts:

• I am beginning to think that GMs should require players to sign over their immortal souls an agreement to take care of their goddamned health instead of making their GM and IM worry for them. At points, I was starting to be concerned about how much I was concerned and how aggressive my welfare checks were. You know who you are; I won't shame you any further. Seriously bros, y'all need to take care of yourselves first >> (But I also understand as the QF59 guy...and the AG8 guy...)
   
• I do not regret how extensively I trolled my players
   
• Devo was an amazing IM. Thanks so much @Devotary of Spontaneity for all the help, advice, and keeping an eye on things.
   
• Special shoutout to @The Unknown Novel both for staying in the game, committing to read everything, and identifying Aman as an Elim before he died. That C5 post of his where he's so bloody done with everything still makes me laugh so hard. Praise the Light!
   
• Special mention also to @Orlok Tsubodai who decided that the need to atone for inactivity for understandable RL reasons meant an insane commitment to summarising everything with analysis, discovering an Aman Elim slip in the process, and then continuing to troll/openwolf via the analysis while also yelling at the Village to do better.
   
• I am extremely proud of both teams. Village analysis was on point often enough (shoutout to TJ's early Orlok paranoia, Stick for sharp analysis, Archer for some fun PM schemes, and Mat for generally legitimate suspicion of Aman), and it was a testament to Aman's skills as an Elim that they were somehow misdirected. Honestly, I was in all PMs and both admiring how Aman did it as well as legitimately confused how Mat somehow changed his mind  
   
• Disagreeing with Orlok because improving your V!Orlok credences for voting out an Elim isn't the problem, as long as you sufficiently revise. Hardclearing him (or Aman) for it is the problem. Please revise your credences, guys :joy:
   
• Araris's RNGesus streak continues to both impress and disturb me.

Three write-ups done. Several kayana players, who are both amazing and need to take care of themselves more, but who are no longer my problem.

And now I have peace.

Praise the Light.

Edited to add: @Araris Valerian - Specifically, Orlok was intending to use the Fang to play mindgames with the Village. I think that would have been interesting if he and Aman had been in better shape, but that wasn't the world your team dealt with, unfortunately. Distancing would have been pretty important either way, so that was a factor in the distro I went for. Ultimately, I'm still of the view that the Fang is better used in a game with a strong Elim team, but also, that it might be time to look at Village-side limiters rather than Elim-side.

Edited April 7, 2022 by Kasimir

[Araris Valerian]

18 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

I am starting to think though that Araris's original conception of the Fang as a leg-up for a struggling Village is unnecessary in this current player group. Village analysis has been fairly strong for the last couple of games and I am beginning to feel that Elim teams might need the boost instead. Not sure. Leave it to @Araris Valerian for further Fang thoughts.

Yeah, the village is definitely on an uptick from when I proposed the idea. Maybe an alternative would be a vanilla-ish game where dead elims stay in the doc? That would slightly incentivize them to bus, and also be a bit of a help. Furthermore, it would reduce the potential for volatility based on the elim team's composition.

Edit: Probably would want some sort of mechanic that slightly helps the village out to compensate/not make them feel left out.

Edited April 7, 2022 by Araris Valerian

[Kasimir]

5 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

Edit: Probably would want some sort of mechanic that slightly helps the village out to compensate/not make them feel left out.

It's called 'open PMs'

J/k