Long Game 28: The Awakening at the House on the Hill

[Kasimir]

You know what? Okay, this looks too cool to miss. I'm going to sign up as Kasther, intrepid explorer extraordinaire, and freelancer for the Hallendran Real Estate Agency!

-

Kasther clicked open his pocketwatch and consulted it, waiting by the sign. Plenty of time, all things considered; it was Heron-made, from an age where those things such as punctuality and craftsmanship and reliability still mattered, and it'd stood up years of travel and abuse with a stolidness that made Kasther consider it fondly.

"What's this?" asked a passer-by, having come up cautiously to where Kasther had set up. Colourful cloth drapes fluttered in the breeze, and his handwritten paper sign threatened to fall off completely, so he straightened it out again.

Kasther brightened up with a smile. "This, my good lady, is the one and only Grand Opening of the House on the Hill!" He let his voice drop to a mesmerising whisper. "Never mind all those unfounded rumours about the owner, the shrieks at night--the Hallendran Real Estate Agency is a respectable organisation, and we have decided to open this house up for  sale! Certainly, it's a little dusty, and--"

With a rotten sigh, part of the wooden boards patching up the rusted iron fence gave way; collapsing to the ground with a forlorn crash.

"--Are you sure it's even safe?" asked the passer-by, dubiously.

Kasther's high-wattage smile never faltered. "Why, of course it is! I'm a certified explorer and agent for the Hallendran Real Estate Agency, and good lady, we assure you that while the House," and here, he could not help glancing back, at the House looming like a forgotten menace, a dark lonely shape on the hill behind, "Appears to be in desrepair, it will be easily remedied. And the grand library is simply stunning! A perfect display of architecture from the very days of the Manywar!"

"Right," the passer-by said, weakly, edging away. "Good luck with that."

Kasther raised his voice so the gathering crowd of onlookers could hear him. "Come one, come all! Don't miss the opening--and yes, the free grand tour of the House on the Hill, offered by none other than yours truly! Marvel at the quality of the silverware! Admire the portraits; painted, it is said, by an artisan as an offering to Dawnfire the Magnificent!"
 

[Magestar]

 Did the Sub-GM just sign up for the game? 

[Elbereth]

1 hour ago, Magestar said:

 Did the Sub-GM just sign up for the game? 

That's not the question. The question is, did Kas just sign up for a game?

And the answer is yes.  Yes, he did. *squeeee*

[Seonid]

Welcome back, Kas!

[Mark IV]

I'm in! Sorry for the last minute sign up. I remembered just before I was about to sleep. Character name, if I'm going to put one, will come later.....

 

...sleepy... 

[AliasSheep]

Can I spectate please?

[Wyrmhero]

The game will start in an hour. Please let me know if you have asked for a spec doc (and are not playing >>) and have not received a link, or I have missed you on the player list.

[Magestar]

29 minutes ago, Wyrmhero said:

(and are not playing >>)

This is totally directed at me.  

[Wyrmhero]

Night 0: Lost

There was quite a crowd gathering around him now. Kasther grinned and gesticulated in a wild and extravagant manner as he called people to him. “Come one, come all!” Sure, it was more circus or village fair than was strictly speaking sightly within the city of colour, but it drew attention. And so what if the people who this attracted were more along the lines of the poor than the wealthy who would be able to afford the house?

Frankly, the house and its land had a stigma about it. Rumours seemed to get more and more outlandish with every year. So this was at once a way to reassure people about the horrific ghost stories that were floating around, and attract prospective purchasers. At the very least, the counter-rumours would help to counteract those who would not have looked at it, and in the end, it could only help to raise the number of potential customers.

When he judged that the crowd was not likely to get bigger, in case those who had arrived earlier got bored and left, he ceased his shouting. With a dramatic flourish and an almighty jingling of his pocket (assisted by a few other pieces of metal in his blazer pocket), he withdrew a set of a dozen or so black iron keys. “Yes, ladies and gentlefolk, the tour shall begin in just one moment! This is your chance to see a piece of historical architecture and – yes – even own it!” The key was inserted in the great lock on the gate, and it opened with an almighty creaking.

“...Of course, a small amount of maintenance is required, but this gates will soon glide open, ladies and gentlemen.”

He led them up the pathway, cobbled stone surrounded by all manner of wildflowers and other fauna. “The gardens are a magnificent example of horticulture from before the Manywar. This house and its grounds remain virtually untouched since that historic event. Some of the plantation here you simply cannot find within the city these days.”

“Ah, I must ask you not to touch or smell the flowers please,” Kasther said quickly, pulling one of the people back. “The previous owner was in particular a lover of many flowers, but in particular he was fascinated with the idea of poisonous plants being used as medicine. He was a generous and insightful man, but I do not advise that you get too close to them at the moment. Of course, a few Lifeless gardeners can clear this up right away if that's not your fancy.”

The door to the house was in as poor a state as the gate was, but at least it had not rotted through or anything like that. “You will note, ladies and gentlemen, that the house features a wooden exterior like many other houses nearby. However, these panels were constructed not from the jungle wood that most are, but from further afield. Most of it is treated pearwood, I believe, renowned for its durability, appearance and ability to breathe.”

“We will now begin the tour. Now, the House is particularly expansive, and it is somewhat... unique in its layout and design. I therefore ask that if you become separated from the group, that you remain where you are so you don't get lost. I will come back to find you a short while after. Thank you.”

He cleared his throat again and gestured round. It was a wide room, home to the great staircase, which seemed to go on forever as it went further and further up into the sky and to higher floors. “There are four floors to this house, as well as an attic and basement. As you can see, the original owner liked tall ceilings, and so the house has been built quite tall. I believe that it was on record that he wanted to be able to see most of the city from the attic.”

“Now, if you'll look around, you will see that the great hall contains the great staircase, the great fireplace, and the great grate here.” He frowned a little as he tried to recall his notes. “I don't believe we know what's under that. I'll look into it. In any case. The fireplace is an original Alvere, the only piece in the House I believe, as the original architect passed away in uh...” He pulled out a small slid of paper from his pocket. “Horrible pain.” He coughed and quickly put the slip of paper away. “...Anyway, Lord Heron the First commissioned Alvere to finish this Hall. Now, following me!”

He raised his hand and walked away from the group, looking back to double-check that everyone was following him. “The Great Hall leads on to the waiting room. The Lord Heron was very important in his time, and so he would often keep his guests waiting here for up to half an hour as a sort of power display. Of course, as you can see from the furniture, even those guests he felt were less important still received some quite considerable comforts.”

“Moving on from the Waiting Room, we have the Parlour. This is where Lord Herons through the ages would meet with and entertain their guests, either before or after matters of business. For this, they would retire to the study, but they would always be offered refreshments here first. As you can see over there, connecting on to here is a small kitchen. That room connects to the servants pathways. The pathways, of course, were designed so that the staff of the house could travel between rooms unseen by their masters. I'm sure we all feel that's a tad archaic now, but I digress. Now, if we return to the Great Hall,” he said, leading the group away again.

“Opposite the Waiting Room, we have his lovely Breakfast Room, which was made open-plan and so it faces the sun. The family would eat here only between the hours of eight and ten in the morning, as this is when the sun illuminates the room fully. As you can also see, there are no holders, no places for candles to be placed; this room is intended to be lit solely with natural light. There are of course other rooms for the other meals, built very much on similar principles, and we shall see this if you follow me...”

He led them to a new room, similar in some ways to the old one but facing a different direction. “Huh,” Kasther frowned a little, pulling out a piece of paper which he folded into a map. “Could have sworn this room was south-facing. Anyway,” he stowed it away. “This room was used for public dinners, rather than private occasions, as can be seen from the size of the table and number of chairs. The only other notable difference in this room is the painting that hangs above the fireplace, which is the only surviving portrait of the Lord Heron. As we can glean from this, he was a fairly dour and no-nonsense man despite his frivolity with his family's money.”

“When entertaining official guests, the women would adjorn to the the sitting room next door, while the Lord and his friends or business partners or what have you would take port and discuss important matters deemed too severe for women at the time. As we can see from the...” He paused as he opened the door. “This is...” He pulled the map back out of his pocket. “I thought it was the sitting room. Says so on the map. But I think it is actually the Games Room.” He took a writing implement out as well and crossed through on the map. “Bloody useless...” he muttered.

“Anyway,” he said, letting them all in. “This room was said to be filled with various toys, games and books for the Heron family children. Some of them were also Awakened objects, which is where the story about shapes moving around in the darkness has come from; After the death of the last Lord Heron, the Awakened dolls were able to move around still for some time, giving the appearance of some kind of ghost or spectre remaining in the House.”

“Now, if we return to the Great Hall, we find... The Master Bedroom. Uh, this is where most of the Lord Herons lived, though there were times when other rooms were used as the master bedroom. The bed is as you can see four-poster, with silk curtains and a bell for summoning servants. The Lord Heron would often be instructed on matters of urgent business in the morning while he was dressed. Said clothes would be obtained from the Wardrobe Room, which housed all of the Lord and Lady Herons's clothing.”

“It is... unusual... to have the Master Bedroom on the ground floor, because...” He thought about it, and then gave up. He couldn't think of any reason that he could bluff for that. Were his notes just that bad? No, he couldn't remember anything about this in his briefing.

“Do you bloody know or not?” One of the visitors asked.

“I know, I know,” Kasther said hurriedly. “I just can't remember...”

“Don't know a damned thing.” The man continued. “Fine, I'm leaving.” He turned on his heels and strode out of the room.

“Wait, wait!” Kasther said, following the man quickly. “You'll get lost!”

“The door's just here,” the man said, gesturing at it. He put his hands on the large handles and pulled. The door refused to budge. Giving up on opening them both, he put both hands on one handle and pulled. Still the door remained immobile. “What? The door's locked itself again.”

“Ah, one second, I'll just get the key...” Kasther muttered as he patted down his pockets. Then he emptied them with a frown, finding only scraps of paper and the metal pieces he had used for dramatics earlier. He whirled around and looked along the floor. “I must have dropped the key. I'll just go and retrace our steps... Won't be a moment.” He hurried off out of the Hall.
 

---

“How long as he been?”

“No idea. None of the clocks in this place work.”

“It's getting dark.”

“What are you saying, that he's just up and left us?”

“I have no idea. Maybe he just got lost.”

“Lost? He had a map!”

“Well, he said it was easy to get lost. Maybe he dropped the map as well or something.”

“Well, I'm going to find him. Him, or another exit. Anyone else?” One by one, they all got up from where they were sitting. He nodded. “Right. Let's go find an exit.”
 

---

Kasther (Kasimir) was an Estate Agent!
Night 0 has begun! It will end at 9PM GMT on Sunday. PMs being sent out now.
As it is the Night, PMs can now be sent between players! Please include myself and Kasimir on the PMs.

Character List

 

1. Dr Konwa Arelle (Wonko the Sane) - A biochromantic scholar.
2. Frost (Doctor12) - He changed his name to something he thought sounded cool. Coincidentally, he is no longer invited to parties.
3. Nyali (Shara) - A real estate agent that ain't afraid of no ghost, because she doesn't believe in them.
4. Stick (I_Am_A_Stick) - A thin piece of wood that has been cut off or that has fallen off a tree.
5. Aralis (Araries Valerian) - Not all-together there.
6. Yiferien (Daniyah) - A murderous maid with her mind on the property market.
7. Exion (Unodus) - Gambling with his life...
8. Rotiart (Paranoid King) - Not suspicious at all guys.
9. Moro (Magestar) - Searching for treasure.
10. Bugsy (Bugsy6912) - Not related to any potential crook.
11. Doctor Ryan Oglethorpe (phattemer) - Has a strange speaking problem.
12. Quintus (Jondesu) - Entering the mansion.
13. Khaos (little wilson) - A fear junkie.
14. Isaac 'The Hammer' Jones (Elenion) - In search of treasure.
15. Nightspud (Assassin in Burgundy) - A questionably starchy person.
16. Nathan (Nathanvanduij) - Signed up.
17. Dr Artie Neuems (Arraenae) - An old gentleman comparing about today's youth.
18. Billy (Darkness Ascendant) - An rural man enamored by the House's appearance.
19. Arinian (Arinian) - Appearing as himself.
20. Greg Ronald (STINK) - TBA
21. Locke (Orlok Tsubodai) - George Washington in disguise.
22. The Guy in the Red Uniform (Ecthelion III) - Too easy...
23. Aon Deag (Aonar Faileas) - Has no interest in buying, so what is he there for?
24. Sean (polkinghorndb) - Planning on asset-stripping the House.
25. C. L. Anky (Clanky) - Hired for investigative purposes.
26. Prof. Alberd Hae (Haelbarde) - Searching for the research notes of the Five Scholars.
27. ? (The_Lady_Of_Chaos) - TBA
28. Jeffery Wilferson (jefrywlfersn) - TBA
29. Eques Tempore (Straw) - TBA
30. Sheon Idris (Seonid) - A shade of his former self.
31. ? (JUQ) - TBA
32. Huxton (The Young Bard) - He means well but does bad.
33. Kasther (Kasimir) - Intreped young estate agent. - Estate Agent
34. Kresla (Elbereth) - Wide-eyed and innocent. This cannot end badly.
35. ? (Mark IV) - Better than Mark III.

Edited November 20, 2016 by Alvron
Minor text fixes

[Kasimir]

Rule Clarifications:

1. Can I send PMs at night?
"Yes, you can. Though I'd still like myself and Kas to be included so we can be sure they're shutting down during the Day."

2. If there are neutrals in this game, would they be explicitly told they are neutral?
"If there are Neutrals in this game, they would be specifically told that they are Neutral, yes." Furthermore, Village alignments will be indicated by use of green in your PM.

3. Is voting an Action? (i.e. If I vote during the day, does this mean I can't do anything at all, including explore at night?)
Voting is not an action. Voting in the day does not affect your ability to explore at night, or to get up to whatever kind of shenanigans you do.

4. The rules say there is no kill on Night 1. But this is Night 0. So how does this work? Did the Almighty Wyrm make a mistake?
The sub-GM reserves comment on whether he is required to endorse the doctrine of Wyrmian infallibility. However, what that rule should be interpreted to mean is that there will be no kill this night. [=no kill on the starting night. Well, except for me, I guess. Y u do dis bro D: ]

5. What happened to Kas?
I'm sub-GMing, under Wyrm. (Which, by the way, means that if a conflict between Word of Wyrm and Word of Kas comes up, go for Word of Wyrm. I'm just helping him keep an eye on things, and running them according to his words.) The sign-up and kill was just for narrative flavour.

6. Do we know when there is an Eliminator? 
"Omens will be noted in the write-up when found, which will hint towards the Eliminator role that is now in play."

7. Can we send group PMs?
Sigh. Yes, yes, you may. *mutters* RIP inbox...

8. Can more than one Omen be discovered in the same Night Turn?
Yes.

9. Does exploring potentially give me new roles, abilities, and alignments other than turning me into an Eliminator?
Yes.

10. While exploring, can I bump into another player and see what they're doing?
No.

11. Does exploring have any other hidden benefits besides what it says in the rules?
No, Dora. No.

12. To send in an "Explore" order, do I have to be ridiculously specific, e.g. "I'm exploring the Breakfast Room!"
No, you don't have to, but it would be awfully helpful just in case - oh, just in case you die, for instance. That way we know where your body shows up...if it doesn't get eaten or something

13. Will every question about the rules I asked get reflected here?
Yes. Wyrm and I share the policy that rule clarifications should be made available to all players, and no player should be having privileged access to information simply in virtue of having asked in a PM or in a doc. While the questions have obviously been anonymised, we will endeavour to make sure everyone is on the same page, as far as the rules are concerned.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Kasimir

[Wyrmhero]

1 minute ago, Kasimir said:

[Reserved for rule clarifications.]

Kas, you're dead, stop posting dammit >>.

[Kasimir]

5 minutes ago, Wyrmhero said:

Kas, you're dead, stop posting dammit >>.

Gee, sorry, Chief. I guess I'll step out of all those PMs now and go sit in a corner...
 

Edited November 18, 2016 by Kasimir

[Nyali]

Well, I don't think there's much to talk about just yet. Remember to explore the house, everyone! We need to figure out what's going on and where  Kasther went. Or maybe just find his map. Or even the key. Regardless, we need to get out of here and we can't do that just sitting around.

[STINK]

Alright, so apparently I got a neutral role, which wasn’t mentioned but wasn’t not mentioned I guess? Heh, get the feeling that this whole Hidden Information thing is gonna annoy me Ah well, I’ve already said I’m neutral at this point, so might as well stick with it. Anyway, seeing as I’m actually kinda on holiday right now for like 2 days, I can’t make any long posts about anything going on in the thread but I always like dropping my role when I’m neutral so I’m gonna stick to it Oh, this also means that it’s really awkward for me to make PMs cause (has my phone always accepted that word?) I’m mobile so if everyone could just send me PMs so I could do some mindless chat (or maybe you want some deep strat talk going on) then I’d really appreciate it ya know?

Oh and before anyone says anything about discord activity, SE and Discord activity are two very different things so I'm just going to ignore all comparisons between the two.

[Jondesu]

Quintus rose early to prepare for his exploration of the house.  The long-winded real estate agent had promised a prompt start, so he reviewed his notes briefly before heading up. Tales of awakened furniture, or the whole house(!) were almost certainly exaggerated or straight up fabrications, but certainly there was a mystery beyond it simply being abandoned. His master would want to know everything he found, so he prepared several notebooks and placed them on top of his pack, along with several pens and ink.  No details would escape his notice.

As the estate agent lead them into the house, Quintus largely tuned him out, the information being redundant, fanciful, or outright falsehoods, meant to bamboozle those with lesser minds.  He instead turned his attention to the house itself, as well as some of his competition.  Quintus didn't plan to try to purchase the house unless it was of particular interest, though he had the means to do so if it was necessary (so long as he wasn't outbid), but he did mean to be sure no one claimed any particularly interesting items before he could.  He'd been taught to be wily and cautious, but appropriating items for the better good was acceptable, even commendable depending on the circumstances.

He wasn't at all surprised when the agent disappeared and left them stranded within the strange mansion, therefore, and immediately began sketching a map beginning in the room they were in at the time, preparing to explore the house and find it's mysteries.

---

Alright, I am also a neutral role (isn't everyone at the beginning?) with no particular abilities, so my goal is simply going to be to find out everything we can.  I didn't like the plan of only having a few people explore, as I noted before, so I'm going to explore and see what I can find.  I of course won't tell anyone if I find an omen and turn, but if I find something that I think is useful, I'll try to figure out who is safe to reveal that to.  That'll be tricky with people changing allegiance, and not by choice, so if anyone has any ideas of how we can at least soft-clear people, that would be great.

[Ecthelion III]

This looks like it's going to be an interesting game! (That is, if I survive. I might want to rethink my wardrobe choices.)

I'm a plebeian role. I'll help you guys explore the house.

[Nyali]

17 minutes ago, Jondesu said:

so if anyone has any ideas of how we can at least soft-clear people, that would be great.

It's literally impossible to clear people in a conversion game. If you confirm they're a villager, and then next turn they get turned, you have no clue that happened. I think we should prioritize exploring and all do it if we all can because we win by exploring the right location, and any omens we find along the way we'd find anyway. By having us all explore and burn through the rooms deck asap, we get out the same number of traitors, but we get them out earlier. The earlier the better - one traitor has a kill and is very hard to find in a game of 34 players, but if we can get like, five omens by turn 2, we can then use traditional methods to clear people and find out who we need to lynch. Getting past the conversion phase as quickly as possible seems like the key to the village winning a game like this.

So, let's exhaust that Rooms deck, or however Wyrm is running it!

[little wilson]

"I must have dropped the key," the real estate agent said, patting down his pocket. "I'll just go and retrace our steps... Won't be a moment." And then he turned and left the group in the room.

Khaos cocked her head to the side as he hurried passed her, looked around at the group, and snuck out after him. After all, if they were locked up on this place, she might as well have a bit of fun, right? What kind of an explorer would she be if she stayed stuck in a stuffy room with a bunch of amateurs with this kind of mystery right within her grasp? Nope, she definitely planned to have stories to tell when the agent finally found the keys and they got out.

She followed the man as he went back through the Great Hall, then to the Games Room and back towards the Breakfast Room, looking increasingly confused as he left each room. And then, suddenly, he was just gone. Khaos stared at one of the walls, certain that it had moved in the split second she'd looked away from the agent's back. Did it....did it cut her off from the agent? No....walls in houses don't move. That's insane. But what if?

What if the stories were true. What if.....the house ate people. And the agent was just the most recent in this long line of tasty, living meals?

Khaos looked around her and then grinned. Then giggled. Oh, this could be fun.

She turned away from the wall and skipped deeper into the house, not even caring about the group of people still stuck in the Master Bedroom, or if she got lost. In a house like this, where walls could move and people disappeared, everyone got lost eventually. Might as well embrace it if you could.

[Straw]

Might as well explore this house. Bye!

[Dani]

I'll be off exploring too. 

[Paranoid King]

Yep, I am also exploring.

[Wonko the Sane]

1 hour ago, Wyrmhero said:

The gardens are a magnificent example of horticulture from before the Manywar.

Is that possible? I was under the impression that the lifespan of most plants was marginally less than three centuries.

1 hour ago, Wyrmhero said:

the great grate

Oh, you.

1 hour ago, Wyrmhero said:

Kasther frowned a little, pulling out a piece of paper which he folded into a map.

I know this is meant to be unfolded, but I choose to visualize it as some sort of origami puzzle, on which the map is only readable when it is folded into the correct shape.

1 hour ago, Wyrmhero said:

After the death of the last Lord Heron, the Awakened dolls were able to move around still for some time

Oh, Harmony. Did anyone else's sports sink, just a little, upon reading this?

1 hour ago, STINK said:

Alright, so apparently I got a neutral role, which wasn’t mentioned but wasn’t not mentioned I guess?

1 hour ago, Jondesu said:

Alright, I am also a neutral role (isn't everyone at the beginning?) with no particular abilities

That's... Awfully generous of you to tell us, if true. No, Jondesu, most of us are Villagers. Are you sure that you aren't? If your role is given in green text, you're a Villager, not a Neutral.

1 hour ago, Jondesu said:

 I of course won't tell anyone if I find an omen and turn,

To be clear, are you aware that the finder of an omen is not necessarily the person who turns? When an omen is found, someone is randomly selected off the player list. So revealing that you found an omen would not in any way implicate you.

I, too, believe that everyone playing should explore tonight, though I disagree with Nyali's assessment as to why. I see no reason to believe that Wyrm has planned few enough rooms that we might exhaust his "room deck", nor a reason to assume that there is any practical limit on the number of Eliminators. However, the game cannot move forward until we find the Heart of the House. Every turn that we don't is a turn where someone dies. The extra Elims are worrying, especially since they're likey to gain powers they can use against us. But until we find the Heart, every turn is a wasted one.

I also want to point out that there's no guarantee that the Elims will be working together. In the board game, the win condition of the Traitor depends entirely on what kind of Haunt happened. We have no reason to assume that the Elim types Wyrm has in store do not have likewise unique objectives. Heck, I don't think the rules even state that they have a doc.

RP will come later, I promise.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Wonko the Sane

[Araris Valerian]

Aralis glared at Kather's back as then man went looking for his key. He clearly had as little idea of what was going on in this House as anyone else did. And now that the door was locked, Aralis couldn't go sit out on the porch. That was the only reason Aralis had come along in the first place. There was no point in having a mansion except that they had rusting huge porches. After pondering what to do for a minute, Aralis grabbed his walking stick and headed off in search of the most comfortable rocking chair in the building. If he couldn't sit outside and enjoy the night air, he would have the next best thing.

[Jondesu]

@Wonko the Sane, I got myself mixed up, thinking Neutral just meant Regular, I'm an "Explorer", so a completely vanilla role, normal "villager" I suppose. The different wording this game mixed me up I guess.

[Orlok Tsubodai]

As I recall, the leaf up to the game included a fair amount of discussion on lynching inactives, and it appeared a consensus was beginning to emerge among some players.

I'd like to challenge that consensus, and argue that lynching inactive is actually a rather counterproductive idea. I would suggest that lynching inactive deprives us of potential future explorations, should they decide to return - and I believe that maintaining village explorations, and so equipping ourselves is absolutely critical should we wish to match the roles of the traitors. I would also argue that we gain very little information by killing an inactive, whilst aiding the traitors in their attempts to achieve a majority over the village.

As can be inferred from above, I fully intend to explore tonight - I appear to have got rather lost in this revolutionary nonsense, and would very much appreciate any directions back to the sanity and stability of the Crown.

Edited November 18, 2016 by OrlokTsubodai