Anniversary Game 2: Return of the Koloss

[Mailliw73]

I've got suspicions on who each Tineye is, but don't want to spread that everywhere yet. I'll attempt to confront them and see how it goes.

Edit:

Venture, plan on showing up to this game?

Edited December 27, 2015 by Mailliw73

[Mark IV]

Well, I don't really know what to say (partially due to the fact that this is my first game). To me, the killing on seonid seems random. If I would have been an eliminator, I would have been more likely to kill some one more of a threat to me. Perhaps it may have been someone seonid was talking to?

I don't mean to cast suspicion on anyone (particularly myself), but I'm just trying to give a bit of direction to the conversation. Never really liked the act of voting to get someone to say something.

EDIT: Read through Night 1. Does anyone find it suspicious that seonid was the one who mentioned that we mustn't clear a way for the Seekers (thereby enabling a pathway for spiked seekers)? Oh and what does the second message (one behind wyrm's poster) mean?

Edited December 27, 2015 by Mark IV

[Kasimir]

I was one of the people Seonid PMed last night. While it's too early to determine the nature of his death (threat kill? grudge kill?), in the interests of sharing information, I'm going to summarise pretty much the only thing he said to me before he died.

He wanted to repeat Wilson's idea (although flawed in execution) in AG1, with a different emphasis. The plan was to divide the entire player list into several different PM groups, with myself or Seonid in each group to 'chair' those PMs. (We now know Seonid is cleared; at that point in time, he told me he had neither reason to trust me, but neither did I have reason him: in fact, I had been a bit concerned as I had thought that a position of informational superiority would be something that would also help an Eliminator.)

His objectives were twofold:

1. Draw out inactives and get them more engaged in the game, by interacting with them in a smaller PM setting.

2. Helps the Seeker: the Seeker could start scanning the people in their PM group and then once they'd cleared their group, they would have a bunch of people with which to strategise.

I declined to take part in this plan, citing RL reasons. (Work, thesis, co-GMing MR10, and hospitalised family member. I'll be happy to put that again in blue for anyone who is suspicious of black text, even though I consider it extremely bad form to lie about these things. Work, thesis, co-GMing MR10, and hospitalised family member. Will be sporadically active despite my procrastinative tendencies, Don't Count On Me Singapore.) I do not know if Seonid had then decided to approach someone else; I do not know if he was then killed for this idea. To me, it's a decent idea, but I'm not sure if it's worth killing for. But it's worth sharing with the class anyway.

I'm leery about discussing the identities of the Tineyes. I recognise PMs are not indispensible, but I do find them useful, and all things considered, I'd rather not end up losing a Tineye. But then, at the same time, even if we don't talk about the Tineyes, I bet the Spiked will be trying to figure out who they are in their doc (assuming neither of the Tineyes who've posted thus far are evil.) So I guess it's worth talking about.

I do have some idea about who the second Tineye might be, but because this involves information from MR10, and I'm not certain if the Spiked have access to this information, I'm rather inclined to sit on it for now.

[Mark IV]

I do have some idea about who the second Tineye might be, but because this involves information from MR10, and I'm not certain if the Spiked have access to this information, I'm rather inclined to sit on it for now.

Did someone mention what they were or something?

[Kasimir]

EDIT: Read through Night 1. Does anyone find it suspicious that seonid was the one who mentioned that we mustn't clear a way for the Seekers (thereby enabling a pathway for spiked seekers)? Oh and what does the second message (one behind wyrm's poster) mean?

Except that we now know Seonid is a Villager.

 

Did someone mention what they were or something?

No comment.

[Mark IV]

Except that we now know Seonid is a Villager.

Well, I was saying that he was trying to devalue seekers, and that might have gotten him killed.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Mark IV

[Kasimir]

Well, I was saying that he was trying to devalue seekers, and that might have gotten him killed.

Except:

1. Seonid wasn't the only one who spoke out in favour of not Smoking, enabling Seekers (if any; whether Village or Spiked) to do their job. STINK and Luckat agreed with him. Killing him for voicing an idea that gained acceptance tends to be pointless if other advocates survive.

2. I was the lone stubborn barve who argued that Smoking had its own benefits and that it was a bit of a stretch to assume Meta'd been so kind as to give Team Village Seekers in the first place. (Rule 1 of playing a game Meta GMs: it will be balanced, it will be hard mode for Village, and never assume role distributions. See Maili's comments on the Gunners. By your logic, I should've been the one killed, although I might very well die on Night 2 anyway (fulfilling my usual tradition...)

[Mark IV]

Ah. Thanks for the summary of most of night 1. Never really read it fully.

OK, so far, we don't really have any leads on the Eliminators, right? (Unless I missed any. I am bad at searching for things you see.)

[Mark IV]

In any case, I support seonid's view on the seeker issue. The eliminators might just eliminate our lurcher and other important roles, rather, I feel we actually concentrate in protecting ourselves. But that's just my opinion.

Another theory on coinshots. Perhaps all the coinshots are villagers. But that might have also been due to the eliminators thinking that they could fool us by not using their Coinshot early on. (Just my thoughts.)

[Wyrmhero]

So Wyrm claims Tineye?

 

Yeah, I'm claiming Tineye. Had to do something interesting, and as I'm not really good at thinking up secret messages, I decided to throw subtlety out of the window and at least generate a bit of discussion with my Roleclaim. Essentially just trying to counteract the normal 'we have nothing to discuss' on the first Day. Of course, I am now going to have to figure out something better to do for the second Night... I am now interviewing for the position of PR agent?

 

Moving on to the other events of the Night. Seonid was an Eliminator in AG1, remember, so I don't think his death is particularly weird on Night 1 in this game. He was also rather active yesterday too, which may be a contributing factor. I don't think there's much point looking for actual reasoning in his death though, at least not yet.

 

I'm hoping that our Seeker(s) managed to find something useful out, and will be making great use of their new contacts today in private. That's the most important thing for us at this stage of the game during Night Turns. Well, as well as our Lurchers attempting to second-guess the Eliminators, that's also important. Our Coinshots (most likely Village in a game where Role/Alignment checking is done simultaneously and we have had no Coinshot kill on Night 1) should probably get onto taking out inactives this Night as well.

 

I am going to vote for one of the people who did not do anything other than RP the previous day. It's a very neutral thing to do early on, and doesn't make you stick your neck out or say anything that could be used against you. Mashadar Mistborn was the first one to do that the previous day.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Wyrmhero

[Kasimir]

Kassien woke up to the sound of distant hammering. He moved over to the window and glanced out, enjoying the morning air. It was an unusually clear day; no ash blew over from the ashmounts. By the entrances to Tyrian Falls, the watchmen—turned militia now—were busy hammering in stakes and logs of wood, meant to form a rudimentary palisade.

He headed down to the apothecary proper, whistling to himself. El’s door was shut, and so he passed it, scribbling a note and leaving it on the desk where she would see it.

Do up 20 batches of antiseptic, he wrote. Use wetrot, feverbane and laceleaf. He left out the instructions and the note that she should add arrowroot to bind the ingredients of the salve to each other more effectively. At this point, El needed to be able to think for herself and to recognise deficiencies in her instructions. That should occupy her for the morning, and a decent part of the afternoon.

Someone had slipped two envelopes beneath his front door. They rustled as he stooped down and drew them out, carefully. The first contained a colourful flyer, advertising for some travelling magician show. Kassien rolled his eyes. Only half-rates went to Tyrian Falls, rather than following the more prosperous route further into the west. Fadrex and Tremredare were still more productive places for a travelling performer—or mountebank—than a trading town along an artery of the Haverfax.

Of course, the killings had begun after the magician had come to town…

Kassien hesitated. In a small town like Tyrian Falls, it was always difficult, he thought, to accuse a fellow townsperson of murder, of wanting the entire town to be massacred by koloss. For who would desire such a thing? It seemed inconceivable that Maill the cobbler, who always seemed to have a finger squarely on the latest gossip, or grouchy, creaky old Aralis, or creepy Inor Haze, for all he stuffed animals and dealt with the dead—it seemed inconceivable that any of them, that any of the people he’d known and helped for years could wish such ill upon them.

Or at least, it seemed a kind of madness.

He looked down at the flyer he held, and stuffed it back into the envelope. The second envelope was slightly more interesting: it contained a cipher, and an initial glance told Kassien that it wasn’t within his ability to crack. And yet it looked familiar, somehow. He’d have to hit the books later this evening, to try and see where he’d encountered such a cipher before.

This one, he folded neatly before replacing it. The two envelopes went into the drawer of correspondences.

The one at the top fluttered free—Kassien caught it, just as the shop door tinkled.

This time, it wasn’t Teys, but Jaelin, one of the newer watchmen. “Morning, Kassien,” he muttered. “I’m here to pick up the, well, you know.”

Kassien did know. It was an embarrassing little problem, but he’d mixed up the batch of herbs all the same, solemnly listened, swore himself to the strictest confidence, and told Jaelin to take it regularly, particularly on nights before he’d planned anything. Jaelin’d flushed and promised to follow his instructions.

“Thanks,” Jaelin said, paying up as Kassien slid the packet of herbs—discreetly labelled—across the countertop, after locating it in the basket of finished orders. “Did you hear about Senn Conrad?”

Kassien concealed his surprise. Senn, after all, had visited him on the previous evening: it was, in itself, a rarity. “No. Should I have?”

But Jaelin wasn’t here in his capacity as a member of the Watch. He nodded eagerly. “They found him in his own study,” Jaelin confided. “Murdered. The captain isn’t happy; we’re investigating this, of course.”

Senn Conrad. Kassien felt a shiver run down his spine. He hadn’t given any sign of fear or of being hunted, last night. “I have no reason to trust you,” Senn’d said, bluntly. It had been hard to get rid of that last veneer of nobility; no matter how many years he’d lain low and pretended to be skaa, it all came rushing back, with Conrad. “I don’t know and I don’t care why you’re doing this.”

“Then what do you want?” Kassien had asked, keeping quiet so El couldn’t overhear them. She had, in any case, likely been sleeping.

Senn shrugged. “You should know,” he said sharply. “You can’t trust me either, but neither of us wants to see Tyrian Falls destroyed, and this is exactly what will happen if we continue along our previous path.”

“You don’t know that,” Kassien said.

“Know what?”

“That I don’t want to see Tyrian Falls destroyed.”

Senn was silent, for a long moment. “True,” he acknowledged. “But then, Tyrian Falls is as much your home as mine. I can, at least, count on your self-interest.”

Kassien accepted the point with a nod. “I can’t do this,” he said.

“Oh?”

“I’m the town apothecary, for the love of the Lord Ruler,” he said. Another slip there; no skaa loved the Lord Ruler, who was, in any case, unfortunately deceased. Hence the root of their current troubles. “I’m not about to get mixed up in cloak-and-dagger matters; what with forming support groups and trying to find the skaa. I’ve stock-taking to be done, salve that needs brewing, herbs that need sorting, and an apprentice to train. Simply put, I’m busy and I don’t have the time for this.”

Senn nodded, simply, accepting. “Very well then,” he said, getting to his feet with a slight groan. “I shan’t trespass upon your hospitality any further than I already have. Good night to you, Estvaril.”

Estvaril. A name he hadn’t used in ages. A man could forsake any right to a name, Kassien thought, but it stuck with you: clung to you like mud, all the same. He thought, then, of his parents. Of the whipping post.

He forced his clenched hands to relax. It was in the past. No point exhuming the dusty bones of the dead.

“Good night, Conrad,” he said. “And good luck. You’ll need it.”

He had needed it. Right now, Senn Conrad was dead.

He realised that Jaelin was staring at him. “Sorry,” Kassien said, forcing himself to smile. “Woolgathering, I’m afraid.” They all had secrets, after all. He’d rather protect his own.

Jaelin shook his head. “Don’t know how you can manage that, these days.”

Kassien saw him out. “Practice, boy,” he said. It wasn’t an unearned appellation: at forty-three, he was beginning to feel old, if not as creaky as Aralis, but Jaelin was more than half his age, and it showed in his enthusiasm.

He closed the apothecary door on Jaelin and braced himself for the business of returning to stock-taking.

[Mark IV]

Was that vote there for luring him out?

[STINK]

If I was an eliminator Tineye, I would do a more obvious claim rather than subtle claims...

[RippleGylf]

Just want to tell everyone that I probably won't be very active in the coming week due to guests.

I don't know what to make of Seonid's death, nor Wyrm's message. Has anyone figured out the password?

[Mark IV]

If I was an eliminator Tineye, I would do a more obvious claim rather than subtle claims...

IMO, that was just subtle enough for us to catch. And so, we wouldn't become too suspicious.

[Curious Anamaximder]

I've got suspicions on who each Tineye is, but don't want to spread that everywhere yet. I'll attempt to confront them and see how it goes.

Edit: Venture, plan on showing up to this game?

Yes. That was fast.

Okay Lopen, what do you think?

[Mashadar Mistborn]

If Seonid was starting PM groups like Kasimir suggested, then his PM group may have had an eliminator in it. Otherwise, I don't really have much to say. If there was an eliminator in the group, then maybe they don't want us to have such groups.

And sorry Wyrm, but a noisy proclamation of usefulness sounds like something an eliminator would do.

Feel free to correct me on every point, these are just my thoughts.

[STINK]

Votes for no reason? What is this? 

 

Panda!

[Herowannabe]

Normally this would be the point in the game where I climb aboard my Contribution Crusade soapbox and begin hollaring at everyone, but with it being Christmas/Boxingday weekend I hardly think that's fair to anyone who hasn't had a chance to get involved with the game yet, so I'm going to hold off on that for now. If the Coinshots want to do as Wyrm suggested and start targeting inactives during the next night cycle, that sounds alright to me. That gives players 4 full days o get on and post something before getting branded "Inactive."

As for suspicions, I have to place my vote for Kasimir for reasons.

I'd also like to mention that I am coming down sick, possibly with strep throat, so don't expect too much from me the first few cycles. I'm still going to try to keep up with posts and votes but I won't be contributing much by way of analyses.

[Kasimir]

Stock-taking was necessary. Sometimes, Kassien even relished organising things; making sure they weren’t out of important herbs, and making sure that everything in their stores was properly kept away, and was as fresh as conditions permitted. He did this every three months; if it was a laborious exercise, it was also an important one; Darine had long instilled in him the importance of making sure that the herbs he used were still efficacious. Look at these, she’d said, holding out a handful of mudwort. They’re wilting, practically shreds. She shook them for emphasis, and tattered fragments of leaf drifted to the ground. Imagine using something like this in a mixture meant to soothe burns. You may as well fill it with dried leaves picked from outside, or grass. There’s nothing these leaves can do now.

Mostly, though, he had come to treat stock-taking as a ritual; a way of grounding himself, of assessing what the most frequent demands from the townsfolk of Tyrian Falls were, and of preparing to anticipate future requests and ensuring he had the stock to fulfill them. The past three months, he’d been inundated with the usual requests for wound salve, for burn salve, and—he was surprised to notice this—for philtres meant to encourage stamina. No serious apothecary talked about that last category of mixtures, but all knew that it sold, particularly in the large cities and amongst the nobility. Evidently, the same was true of Tyrian Falls.

Of course, he figured that blends of calming tea, herbs meant to soothe and to grant restfulness might also be in demand. With the death of Senn Conrad and the bloodied message in the snow, the town’s nerves were fraying. Already, he’d filled out a number of requests for calming teas and tisanes. At this rate, he’d need to bring in more from his supplier. Absently, he reminded himself that he would have to spend more time taking El out into the field, showing her how to harvest her own herbs. With connections to a good supplier, such tasks became largely unnecessary, but as Darine had always told him, skills remained. Skills taught people how to fend for themselves when no crutches were available. She had taught him, and so he would teach El.

Kassien sealed a crate containing dried helith berries, and moved on to the bloodstanch. It was a pale green moss that was highly useful in treating wounds: bloodmoss could even be directly applied to the wound and packed around it in an attempt to stem bleeding. When drunk, it was a coagulent, encouraging the blood to clot, to seal. Which meant that it could kill, too. Next it was leechmoss, its opposite. Leechmoss thinned the blood; someone taking concentrated leechmoss bled out from the slightest of wounds. But it was a good way to deal with apoplexy, particularly when induced by strokes.

Eren had always confused bloodstanch and leechmoss, Kassien remembered, fondly. But he’d learned, in the end. Just as Kassien had learned, after making his own fair share of mistakes. It was what he wanted for El: room to grow, room to blunder. But, after all of that, room to pick herself up and to become a proper apothecary.

Redbark lay in neat strips in the second-last crate. He sealed that one again after checking through its contents. He kept redbark, even though he hoped never to have to use it. Yet if there was something Kassien knew, it was that the world never tried to bend, to conform to the demands he placed on it. Hopes and wishes were just that; his own desires, expressed. We learn all the things, Kassien thought, the good and the bad. And the last and most important lesson that Darine had taught him: There’s a time to heal, Darine had said. And a time to kill. The most important thing you’ll ever have to remember is to tell the difference between which is called for, healing or killing. He stared at the crate of redbark for a long time. What is a weed? Darine had asked. And what is a plant? She nudged at the greycrown before her. These grow everywhere; in the cities, lords have their skaa rip them out of their manor gardens. But greycrown is used to ease the birthing process; you can eat it, too, though it doesn’t taste good. The same applies to people. Who will you kill? Who will you heal? It’s the gardener’s choice, Kassien. The trick is making a choice you can sleep with. Resolutely, he turned his back on the redbark and moved on to the last crate.

[RippleGylf]

Normally this would be the point in the game where I climb aboard my Contribution Crusade soapbox and begin hollaring at everyone, but with it being Christmas/Boxingday weekend I hardly think that's fair to anyone who hasn't had a chance to get involved with the game yet, so I'm going to hold off on that for now. If the Coinshots want to do as Wyrm suggested and start targeting inactives during the next night cycle, that sounds alright to me. That gives players 4 full days o get on and post something before getting branded "Inactive."

As for suspicions, I have to place my vote for Kasimir for reasons. I'd also like to mention that I am coming down sick, possibly with strep throat, so don't expect too much from me the first few cycles. I'm still going to try to keep up with posts and votes but I won't be contributing much by way of analyses.

Agreed. With it being the holidays, I don't see the point in voting for inactives at the moment.

[Wyrmhero]

Mashadar Mistborn, on 27 Dec 2015 - 4:00 PM, said:

If Seonid was starting PM groups like Kasimir suggested, then his PM group may have had an eliminator in it. Otherwise, I don't really have much to say. If there was an eliminator in the group, then maybe they don't want us to have such groups.

And sorry Wyrm, but a noisy proclamation of usefulness sounds like something an eliminator would do.

Feel free to correct me on every point, these are just my thoughts.

 

(formatting broke)

 

Since you've turned up and brought up a point, I have removed my vote from you, Mashadar Mistborn. It could be that Seonid's attempt to connect with players has made him a target, as you have said. To that end, is anyone from a PM group he set up willing to come forward and state who was in it? A bit of a long shot perhaps, but it would be useful to know.

 

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'noisy proclamation of usefulness' here, but I always consider that my role at the early stage of the game is to draw out discussion from players who may otherwise be sitting back and being quiet. Sometimes Usually I do that by being a bit aggressive and antagonistic with my votes.

 

I'd quite like to know what Hreo's vote has behind it with the implications of there being reasons there which aren't mentioned. We have a lot of random, reasonless votes on Day 1 usually (which is fine to a certain extent, in my opinion), but I'm curious if he has actually got one. If so, it could be quite useful to hear what that is - provided it's not too sensitive (in which case, why bring it up?).

Edited December 27, 2015 by Wyrmhero

[Creccio]

I am sorry for my absence in this game and in the MR, but my laptop screen broke completely and I am in the process of repair/getting a new one plus christmas and family matters...

 

Sorry for being absent, but I should be back soon-ish I hope...

 

Sorry....

[Mark IV]

The sun was still shining in his eyes. That was why he had woken up in the first place. Well, to be fair, it was past noon already, so the sun was expected to do that. It had taken him a few moments to recollect what had happened in the last 12 hours. First there had been an entity called Metacognition (whatever that means) giving him his role. Then there was the message in blood of last night.

And now, if he had heard right, there was the murder of Senn.

Though he hadn't known Senn that much, it was clear that the Spiked were willing to Eliminate anyone that they saw fit. Even nobility. And that scared Unknown.

So, wearily, he made his way along the alley. It was frustrating to have nothing to do while death loomed above your head. And that was why Unknown had decided to, like a normal person, get two things - a name and a job.For the former, he decided that Four would do just fine. In read to the latter though, it was not looking too good. Actually, it was looking bad.

Nobody was willing to take him in.

Tired of roaming in the sun, he sat down in proximity of Wyrm's cart, if only to look at the brightly coloured poster.

OOC: Sorry for the terrible role play. This is my first time you see.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Mark IV

[Hellscythe]

I figure if I die I don't want it to be without information so here's my thoughts straight from my AG2 Docs Notes

 

Day 1 Suspicious Thingies

 

Mashadar Mistborn, on 27 Dec 2015 - 09:00 AM, said:

If Seonid was starting PM groups like Kasimir suggested, then his PM group may have had an eliminator in it.

Redundant statement. Sounds evil.

 

 

Otherwise, I don't really have much to say. If there was an eliminator in the group, then maybe they don't want us to have such groups.

Not sure what this means at all. If they were in the group why would they not want us to have one? Also sounds evil.

 

 

And sorry Wyrm, but a noisy proclamation of usefulness sounds like something an eliminator would do.

This is the one point I can get behind. I agree with what Stink and Mashadar said. If I was an evil Tineye I'd be more inclined to come out in the open so people would hesitate to kill me. As an innocent Tineye I'd be more cautious so that my teams could have PM's for as long as possible especially considering at the time of Night one, I could've been the only Tineye.

I'm not Tineye that was just all theoretical.

There’s also the small possibility that Wyrm is just going with the flow and is actually either a Thug/Lurcher/Regular and he’s ok with someone else trying  to attract attention to himself.

 

 

spooooky large spaces always have white text!!!! Beware!!!!

 

Herowannabe, on 27 Dec 2015 - 09:23 AM, said:

Normally this would be the point in the game where I climb aboard my Contribution Crusade soapbox and begin hollaring at everyone, but with it being Christmas/Boxingday weekend I hardly think that's fair to anyone who hasn't had a chance to get involved with the game yet, so I'm going to hold off on that for now. If the Coinshots want to do as Wyrm suggested and start targeting inactives during the next night cycle, that sounds alright to me. That gives players 4 full days o get on and post something before getting branded "Inactive." 

 

As for suspicions, I have to place my vote for Kasimir for reasons

 

Sounds like a seeker to me.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2015 by Hellscythe