Quick Fix Game 9: The Court of The Gods

[A Joe in the Bush]

"Sir, the other gods want your vote." Sharkbait's High Priest, Klenimar, stood before him, waiting for another snipet of Sharkbaits eternal wisdom.

"My vote? As the most great of the gods, I can only vote for myself, Sharkbait."

Klenimar stared at him. "Sir, have you been paying attention to what this vote is about?"

"Of course I have! I certainly haven`t been daydreaming about going on a voyage to hunt sharks this entire ."

Klenimar opened his mouth, then closed it. He repeated that action several more times before bowing and walking out of the room. After the door closed, Sharkbait could hear what was obviously a joyous yell. Others might assume it to be frustration, but Sharkbait knew he never frustrated anyone.

Colours he was awesome.

Edited August 2, 2015 by The Only Joe

[Kipper]

Aleck the Smart woke up from his early afternoon nap. He stretched and yawned langourously. Or at least that's what his priests thought. Really, he was just showing off his well muscled upper body. After all, I am half man, half amazing...might as well work it.

"My lord," one of his priests timorously began, "have you--"

"Yeah, shut up," Aleck said offhandedly. "I think I can interpret my dreams well enough by my lonesome. Is it really true, that Ri accused me publicly?"

The priest, his face tinged with embarrassment and a bit of annoyance, answered, "Yes, my lord. At noonday."

"I see. And what are her plans for the rest of the day?"

"Uh..." The priest shuffled through papers on his tablet. "She plans to view the gardens for most of the afternoon."

"Excellent!" Aleck shouted. The priests jumped. Aleck rolled out of bed, straightening up and stretching. He did a teeny little butt wiggle for the benefit of the female attendants. "I need a hammer, now."

The hammer was delivered. It's always amazing, the things I can get in a moment's notice. Aleck hefted it, flipping it around in his hand. On an impulse, he smashed it down on a marble endtable, and it shattered. "Even excellenter. Time to pay Ri a visit." He strode out of the room in his underpants, swinging the hammer at his side.

The priests rushed after him. "My lord, you can't go out like that! Think of your reputation!"

"Relax, relax. I'll use the tunnels. No biggie, kolo?"

The priests dropped back and watched Aleck leave.

Two hours later, Aleck came back, sweaty and almost delirious with happiness. He swung the hammer in the air in front of him, gesticulating and clearly acting out something he had done. "Smash! Smash!" he said under his breath. The priests stared mutely.

He flopped down on his bed, throwing his hammer to the side. It sailed through the window and plummeted to the ground as the priests looked on in shock. "Colors, but that was fun!" Aleck suddenly shouted. "All those pretty mirrors, smashed. I got all of 'em. Took me a while, but I did it. I'd love to see her face when she finds out."

Since we have no roles, I don't see a problem with a D1 lynch this time. So...Lynchtarget the Innocent

[Bort]

Bortholemew the Blind stomped grumpily into the Court of the Gods, his high priest trailing slightly behind, a slightly shocked expression on his face. The midget's beard looked glorious. Freshly primped and tidied, it was fluffier than ever. Just under Bortholemew's chin, a small face sat in the beard to those who looked closely. It was female, and had a content look about her face.

 

Seeming to look around at those gathered, Bortholemew's gaze stopped on Funweaver the Festive's priests (clowns? jesters?) with a look of horror.

 

When the time came to vote, Bortholemew the Blind stood and declared, "My vote must be for Funweaver the Festive, just for the horror he thrusts upon us! I mean, have you seen his priests? Those colours look awful together! Pink, and yellow, in those eye wrenching twists and patterns..." 

 

Although his voice faded to a murmur after that, fortunately allowing proceedings to continue, those close to the Returned beardomancer, could hear him still muttering. For those looking closely, the face in the beard was laughing hysterically.

 

It's day one, no-one has any suspicions yet, or I don't at least, so I thought I'd have a bit of fun

[Metacognition]

Metacognition's staff heaved a sigh of relief the other night, when their god had finally stopped his pacing. What he had to say, on the other hand, we not so welcome.

 

"I have come to the conclusion that we, the Returned, can not be gods," he stated plainly. "There is no way to maintain the dichotomy of spiritual ineffability and the fact that some among us have been manipulated by mere mortals."

 

"My Lord, you speak blasphemy!"

 

"Not at all, for I have created a model that allows for our continued elevated position, but accounts for our fallibility. 

 

You see, we are not gods per say, but we have been given a divine spark from an otherwise unknown deity. It is the only thing that makes logical sense."

 

His High Priest just stared at him, his mouth agape. 

 

"Oh, yes, the only other thing that makes logical sense is that Sharkbait is being illogical. Voting for oneself does not actually do us much good at this juncture."

 

---

 

Two things: 

1. We're going to need everyone talking and discussing and interacting this game if we want to be able to find the Rebels. If someone is being silent, then we should treat that as if they are trying to sabotage us and that they could be a Rebel. We aren't going to have a lot of time each cycle as is since this is a QF. 
2. I have had an idea for the use of Breaths for quite awhile now, but I didn't want to share it if I wound up being an Eliminator myself! If we can, we should try to decide who is getting lynched by a decent margin so that the Rebels can't upset the vote. The reason for this is that, the Returned that is going to get lynched can then, instead of dying to the lynch, can give up their breath for another player of their choosing. This will hopefully stand the chance of blocking the Rebel's kill every now and then. 

[Orlok Tsubodai]

I do agree with Meta about how shark bait's vote is odd, and seems like a deliberate attempt to remove suspicion early, but shan't vote for him, for fear of stifling discussion prematurely.

I'm not sure I agree with Kipper putting a second vote on Lynchtarget before she had responded.

Edited August 2, 2015 by OrlokTsubodai

[Curious Anamaximder]

My vote is on Lynchtarget the Innocent.

[A Joe in the Bush]

Klenimar stepped out of his God's throne room and let out a scream of Frustration. How had that insufferable twit returned? The idiot didn't even know what he was voting for! And now he would have to report that his god was saying he was one of the rebels? It was nearly enough to make him convert to Austere.

 

A messenger was staring at him in surprise, obviously unused to Klenimar constantly screaming in frustration. "Uh, High Priest Klenimar, the Court is awaiting your god's answer?"

 

"My God has decided to vote for, um." Did he have to tell the truth? No one else had been in the room with them when Sharkbait had voted for himself, and Sharkbait himself had probably already forgotten the whole incident. He could lie, and vote for whoever he found suspicious. "Lord Sharkbait the Incompetent has decided to vote for Metacognition the Thoughtful. Since he supports a plan that will result in TWO gods dying each cycle."

 

@Meta, I wanted to see who would vote for me, so I could vote for them. As for your plan. I don't think that will work. If the lynch target were to kill themselves, wouldn't the person with the second most votes be lynched? Your plan also encourages Lynch Trains.

 

And I will be RP'ing as Sharkbait And Klenimar. If I get Lynched Gamma, please have Sharkbait accidentally kill Klennimar some how as well.

 

Current Votes:

Lynchtarget the Innocent(3): Shar, Aleck, Ven

Aleck the Smart(2): Ri, Orlock

Metacognition the Thoughtfu(1)l: Sharkbait

Sharkbait the Incompetent(1): Metacognition

Funweaver the Festive(1): Bortholomew

Shar the Sacrifice(1): Funweaver

Jain the Panda(1): Redcross

Brightwater the Keen(1): Droll

Edited August 2, 2015 by The Only Joe

[Orlok Tsubodai]

Again, Venture, with this long left in the cycle, is starting a bandwagon on someone really the best way to stimulate discussion and therefore gain information?

[Sir Jerric]

The line of petitioners filed slowly across the turquoise-mosaic floor in the wake of the orange-robed underpriest. Trymmin hated coming to Jadebuffer's palace, but one of the perks a master merchant had was the funds to hire people like himself to do the jobs they didn't fancy. Jobs such as requesting tariff relief from Hallandren's least popular deity.

 

Jadebuffer stood at one side of his petition hall dais as the petitioners enetered, silhouetted against a broad window. Trymmin's eyes burned from the combination of intense colors, both from the pressed lines of Judebuffer's satin robes and the glittering tiles under his polished leather boots. Turquoise leather. Trymmin shuddered and turned away.

 

The underpriest announced the petitioners and turned to depart. "Rrond," Jadebuffer said, cutting off the fellow's retreat with a voice that made the room echo like a mausoleum. That was a trick Trymmin wished he could pull, speaking into an open window as Jadebuffer was. "Send to Ven the Procrastinator. Tell him to come immediately, since I'd like to speak to him this afternoon. You may go."

 

The underpriest bowed again. "As you wish, Your Grace."

 

Jadebuffer turned to the line of petitioners, his sunken eyes blank. His gaunt hands moved in endless spirals as he polished something under a thick orange cloth. Trymmin once again thought he'd rather be dealing with the god of Death. Then again, perhaps Jadebuffer the Eerie was the god of Death; it would explain a lot.

 

---

I'm not a big fan of bandwagon jumping at any point. What's your theory, Ven?

[RavenRadient7]

Ri concealed a sigh as she returned to her rooms, shifting her veils to ensure that they were still in position. Colors, what has gotten into my priests now?

 

"Lady Ri, come quickly! One of the other Returned paid a visit!"

 

"And, Ke? Such an event is hardly worth my time. I'm more concerned with other matters at the moment."

 

Three nights with no dreams, not even the ones her priests never bothered interpreting. Lack of warnings could only mean real danger.

 

"In here, my lady."

 

She surveyed the damage briefly, noting the glass had been cleaned up before she had even arrived. At least her priests were still efficient, if nothing else. "Do you know who?"

 

"Lord Aleck, my lady. He appears to have taken your vote, badly."

 

Ri rolled her eyes. "Aleck has no intention of ever changing his ways, and I doubt that even the God King could control his antics." She swept past Ke, heading towards the paintings her priests had gathered. Perhaps the art would hold the answers that her dreams refused to give.

 

"But what should we do about the situation!"

 

Ri paused at the door. "Why, nothing of course. No reaction, and of course no change in the vote. I have heard of his own vote, and Lynch had "Innocent" right in her title. Perhaps a tie would be in order. Now, I have work to do."

 

 

Sorry Kipper, but Ri never shows her face to anyone. How else could she remain mysterious, after all!  

 

And I'm not removing the vote on you until I've heard why the second vote on Lynch, like Orlok said. I'm not sure if starting a lynch this early is a good idea or not, so I'd rather get closer to a tie. I will not be around for a few hours, though, so it might be a while before I can remove the vote if you do explain.

[Wyrmhero]

Meta is, of course, completely correct about the fact that discussion is absolutely the best way to go about this - Indeed, it's the only way to go about this, without any seeking Roles (well, other than completely random chance, but I'd hope we are better than that). Been a while since we've had to rely solely on our wit, but I'm sure we can manage .

 

I said I'd RP a bit, but I'm a bit worn from changeover for Heirs, so I'm going to leave that for tomorrow and give a brief bit of a look at what's happened so far.

 

Interestingly enough, this little conversation between Meta and Joe reminds me all the way back to LG5. Aspren voted for himself, and Meta jumped on the first person who voted for Aspren as well. Meta was, however, innocent back then, so I don't think this really tells us anything other than mainly leaning towards innocence. But on the other hand, he says 'I didn't want to share it in case I was an Eliminator' with his second point. Seems a mite too 'I'm a Villager, honest!' to me.

 

Can a player give up their Breath if they're going to be lynched, Gamma? I would have guessed that if a player gave up their Breath, the person second in line for the chop would get lynched instead. Otherwise it seems rather strong, though I won't complain if that's the case. It'd be good to get confirmation on this.

 

We definitely do not want a bandwagon. Even when we're fairly sure of an Eliminator (though I doubt we'll ever be in any situation to be 100%), we should always still promote discussion as much as possible. We certainly don't want to lock in targets within the first 12 hours of the Cycle on the first day. Now, while it's true that we have little to go on at the start, already we have a lot of information on who is voting and where they are voting. We have several people confirming lynches, appearing to bandwagon, and discussing. We need to keep that up. Lynchtrains shouldn't really be encouraged until we are certain that a player is the one we definitely want to lynch.

 

My vote on Jain was probably a bit silly, since he's not on at that time usually, but I'll keep it there to ensure he pokes his head in and gives a response. I'm a little suspicious of Kipper (note, *very* little) for his saying that he's okay with Day 1 lynches this game because there's no Roles, which I would disagree with (in that I think they're handy in every game), but that's probably just due to us having somewhat conflicting playstyles, and previous games creeping in a bit too much into a very different game. For now, my vote on Jain stays until I get a response.

 

Has anyone been seen yet on this thread who haven't posted?

[A Joe in the Bush]

Interestingly enough, this little conversation between Meta and Joe reminds me all the way back to LG5. Aspren voted for himself, and Meta jumped on the first person who voted for Aspren as well. Meta was, however, innocent back then, so I don't think this really tells us anything other than mainly leaning towards innocence. But on the other hand, he says 'I didn't want to share it in case I was an Eliminator' with his second point. Seems a mite too 'I'm a Villager, honest!' to me.

 

Has anyone been seen yet on this thread who haven't posted?

He also didn't bother asking Gamma if his plan works before saying we should follow it. That's one of the major reasons I'm suspicious of him.

 

I haven't been paying attention to who has been reading.

[TheMightyLopen]

Gancho the Crass lay in bed, pondering the situation. "The Returned are always arguing about one thing or another" he sighed. "And yet, this time our lives are at stake. I suppose I should get involved" he grumbled as he climbed out of bed. 

 

I vote for Meta, he seems a bit suspicious.

[Metacognition]

"Lord Sharkbait the Incompetent has decided to vote for Metacognition the Thoughtful. Since he supports a plan that will result in TWO gods dying each cycle."

 

@Meta, I wanted to see who would vote for me, so I could vote for them. As for your plan. I don't think that will work. If the lynch target were to kill themselves, wouldn't the person with the second most votes be lynched? Your plan also encourages Lynch Trains.

 

 

 

I would have guessed that if a player gave up their Breath, the person second in line for the chop would get lynched instead. Otherwise it seems rather strong, though I won't complain if that's the case. It'd be good to get confirmation on this.

 

 

Well this is interesting! Why would you both come to this conclusion? A little group think perhaps? Because that's what it looks like to me.

 

If we wind up lynching the person that the Eliminators kill, what happens to that kill? Do they get to pick a new target? Of course not. That's not how these things work. There hasn't been a situation where "the next person in line" gets lynched instead and I don't see why that would happen here. Just like with any power that tries to be used on a specific person fizzles if the target isn't around anymore, I assume that the lynch would do the same. 

 

Now, granted, I didn't check with Gamma first, but that's because I really don't think that this is an actual question. It sounds more like it's a plan that you'd just really dislike being around; just as I wouldn't have liked it being around if I had been an eliminator (which is why I mentioned that in the first place).

 

I'm keeping my vote on Joe for now, but I've got my eye on you Wyrm. At the very least, once one of us winds up dead, it should give everyone else a better feel for the alignment of the others!

[Kipper]

RavenRadient7 and Wyrm (a bit) Usually I do not support D1 lynches. Actually, usually, I barely even participate in D1, because it's so useless to me. I've said this over and over again in previous games, but I realize that this is your first. Now, the reason for that is because I don't want to lynch a really helpful role. No one does. And so no one's heart is really in D1 lynches, at least in my perception. Everyone knows that D1 lynch votes are really poke votes. People joke about it all the time.

 

This game has no special roles, so the only way we will able to judge who is bad and who is good is by analyzing the thread and lynch votes, a drastic departure from most games. To effectively analyze most lynch votes, someone needs to die. I'm assuming we need three votes to kill someone, so I placed a vote on one of the players who had a vote already. Lynchtarget the Innocent happens to have the most provocative name, and was the first one to be voted for, so...I voted for her. Yes, I realize that this is a little bit of a flip-flop. I think that this flip-flop in question can be easily explained by the difference in games.

 

Again, I don't have any particular animosity towards her. I just want someone to die. Feel free to pick someone else to bandwagon, and I'll change my vote. I don't really care.

 

Also, TheMightyLopen has been lurking for some time, but maybe he's just reading.

 

Edit: Strikethrough preceding sentence. Ninja strike.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Kipper

[A Joe in the Bush]

Well this is interesting! Why would you both come to this conclusion? A little group think perhaps? Because that's what it looks like to me.

 

If we wind up lynching the person that the Eliminators kill, what happens to that kill? Do they get to pick a new target? Of course not. That's not how these things work. There hasn't been a situation where "the next person in line" gets lynched instead and I don't see why that would happen here. Just like with any power that tries to be used on a specific person fizzles if the target isn't around anymore, I assume that the lynch would do the same. 

 

Now, granted, I didn't check with Gamma first, but that's because I really don't think that this is an actual question. It sounds more like it's a plan that you'd just really dislike being around; just as I wouldn't have liked it being around if I had been an eliminator (which is why I mentioned that in the first place).

 

I'm keeping my vote on Joe for now, but I've got my eye on you Wyrm. At the very least, once one of us winds up dead, it should give everyone else a better feel for the alignment of the others!

 

You're using examples that are non-applicable. There's never been a case where the Eliminators choose to target the person being lynched. And in this case, it would make sense for the second person to be lynched. Let's think about the Order of Actions. I'm assuming it goes:

Votes

Give away Breath

Eliminator Kill and Lynch

Since anything else wouldn't make sense. If I'm right about this Order, than the target of the Lynch is already dead, and thus a non-valid target. So the Lynch would target whoever else has the most votes. Unless Gamma says otherwise, I'm keeping my vote on you.

 

As for how Wyrm and I both came to this conclusion, a better question is how you didn't? I used my experience with previous games to come to this conclusion. I Expect you did the same thing. Of course, I can't speak for Wyrm, but I expect he either did the same thing, or saw my conclusion and decided it made more sense than yours.

[Metacognition]

Just because the Eliminators aren't likely to actually use their kill on the lynch target doesn't mean it can't happen, but if you want other examples, consider any protection role. If someone is targeted with a kill, but that person has protection, the kill doesn't go to the next person. If a Smoker has their cloud up and smokes someone, a Rioter's vote change does go to the next person. This is the same kind of situation. 

 

The lynch targets the person with the most votes. Just because that person is no longer targetable doesn't mean it goes to the next person in line. There's just no other part of these games that do that, so why is the lynch the special one in your equation? To me, I just don't see why you would even think that it would in the first place. 

 

Then, there's the fact that, before finding out which one of us is correct (the exact same thing that you accused me of and supposedly made you suspicious of me), you voted for me based off of your interpretation of the rules. 

 

For the Rebels, this is a dangerous plan as it possibly jeopardizes their kill and makes the Breaths useful for the Returned. It means that once we wind up saving one person from their kill, we could effectively keep that person alive until we wind up lynching a Rebel. I think that is more why you don't like my plan rather than somehow twisting how the lynch works to make it seem less appealing. But we'll find out when Gamma does get on. Then he can let us know how the Breaths interact with the Lynch. 

[Kipper]

Meta, my first reaction was to think that the lynch would move too. Of course, I don't know, but I'm just pointing out that they are not the only two to think that that is a perfectly reasonable explanation.

[A Joe in the Bush]

The Lynch and target actions are different. Smoking and Lurching are made specifically to block Seekings and Coinshots. There isn't a role (Except Devotion) made specifically to block Lynches. That's where this case is different.

 

And I am checking. But until Gamma confirms that one of us is right, I have to go with what my Gut and experience say should be right.

 

You're right that your plan, if your interpretation is correct, would danger the Rebels, but it would do so by a tiny margin. (Though I'll still use it if I'm lynched and your interpretation is correct.)

 

Actually, I just realized something. If my interpretation is correct, that lets the Rebels kill an extra person every couple of cycles. If they're being lynched, they can give up their breath and a villager will be lynched as well. Now I'm uncertain which interpretation is correct.

 

I'll retract my vote from Meta until Gamma gets on to clarify.

[Wyrmhero]

Well this is interesting! Why would you both come to this conclusion? A little group think perhaps? Because that's what it looks like to me.

 

If we wind up lynching the person that the Eliminators kill, what happens to that kill? Do they get to pick a new target? Of course not. That's not how these things work. There hasn't been a situation where "the next person in line" gets lynched instead and I don't see why that would happen here. Just like with any power that tries to be used on a specific person fizzles if the target isn't around anymore, I assume that the lynch would do the same. 

 

Now, granted, I didn't check with Gamma first, but that's because I really don't think that this is an actual question. It sounds more like it's a plan that you'd just really dislike being around; just as I wouldn't have liked it being around if I had been an eliminator (which is why I mentioned that in the first place).

 

I'm keeping my vote on Joe for now, but I've got my eye on you Wyrm. At the very least, once one of us winds up dead, it should give everyone else a better feel for the alignment of the others!

 

I'm going to do something that will surprise you here, Meta: I'm going to admit Joe's thoughts influenced me. Of course, it wasn't in a doc but on here. He responded before I did, and I read his small comment on it before making my post, and I thought to myself about it. My immediate thought along those lines was 'We need this clarified before we decide on doing this, just in case Joe's right.'. It was then followed by 'Do we really get a free shot at preventing the Eliminator's kill like that? Seems a bit like it's not quite in the spirit of the rules. Best to check'. I admit, I didn't think about it too closely at the time, as it wasn't meant to be a large part of my post.

 

I would assume that you don't give your Breath away until the player dies. In which case, if the lynch occurs first, as it has done in many QF games before, you can't stick around to save someone with your Breath. However, if they occur simultaneously, then it seems rather strong to say that, as your dying act, you are able to give your Breath away to a person of your choice. The obvious balance then would be that this moves down to the second person instead. Of course, there is a minor issue with the Eliminators getting someone else lynched with their Breath giveaway, now that I think about it a bit more, so I don't think that would happen. My assumption would be the first case, that the lynch happens first.

[Orlok Tsubodai]

Meta, might I raise the point that unlike eliminator kills, seeking or rioting, a lynch does have a clear second preference for targeting. Further, my interpretation of the lynch mechanics are that they target the alive player with the most votes.

Equally, it may well be that giving up breath comes after the kill - in which this whole argument is moot .

I do agree, though, with Meta's point that voting for him based on what is only a possible flaw in what could well be a very useful plan, before we have confirmation from a GM is premature.

[Sart]

Alright, I'm here. It's going to be difficult to find the eliminators this game, so we need to rely on post analysis. However, I'm not sure how much we can glean from a Day One vote. Most of the votes are poke votes, which are literally random. It's nearly impossible to glean information from them. I'm going to hold off from voting right now. I need to do more analysis before I can safely place a vote.

[A Joe in the Bush]

We have 12 hours left in the Cycle people. Neither of the top two lynch targets have posted yet, so unless they post something they're one of them is likely to die. 

 

Lynchtarget the Innocent(3): Shar, Aleck, Ven

Aleck the Smart(2): Ri, Orlock

Metacognition the Thoughtfu(1): Gancho

Sharkbait the Incompetent(1): Metacognition

Funweaver the Festive(1): Bortholomew

Shar the Sacrifice(1): Funweaver

Jain the Panda(1): Redcross

Brightwater the Keen(1): Droll

Ven the Procrastinator(1): Jadebuffer 

[TheMightyLopen]

It seems like voting right now is a shot in the dark, so I'm gonna retract my vote for Meta.

 

This game seems pretty complex so I'll hold off on voting at the moment. 

[RavenRadient7]

Kipper, thanks for the answer. I'm not sure I completely follow what you were saying about analyzing lynch votes, but then again I've never been in a game where I've really had that option before, so...

 

At this point, I'm going to pull the vote off of Kipper. I'm not putting a new vote yet, since I'm going to watch and see how the GM responds to the questions posed. Hopefully, we'll figure something out.