Long Game 37: Coyote Stories

[Aonar Compounder]

“Ooh, ooh, tell me a story!” Coyote pranced around the Court’s latest medium in a decidedly undignified fashion, body undulating in a way that was unsettling to the eye.

“What sort of story?”

“A story about me, of course! Those are always the best stories.” The god grinned widely, muzzle full of far too many teeth, all razor sharp.

“Of course,” the medium agreed gravely, settling themselves on a nearby stump.

“So which story will you tell?” Coyote nuzzled against the medium’s legs before rolling onto his back, demanding wordlessly that his belly be scratched. “Will you tell of how I placed the stars in the sky? Of how I hid the moon?”

As the medium cautiously obliged Coyote with scratches, the god turned, snapping at their fingers, missing by only a hair.  “Or will you tell of how I tore the Wood and Court asunder? Of how I trapped the Seed Bismuth, and made the humans know fear?”

“I will not tell any of those stories, I think.”

“But you must! Those are my favourites.” The air in the wood seemed to thicken. Strange shadows flickered at the edge of the medium’s vision, and Coyote let out a low growl, teeth growing longer, sharper, if that were possible.

“I think you will like this one, once I have told it. It is a tale of your cleverness, your wisdom, your vengeance and your mercy.”

The shadows abated, and Coyote’s form rippled, becoming smaller, less aggressive. A look of puzzlement replaced his former snarl. “That does sound like me. But I am not sure I know this story.”

“It is an old tale, and not well known. It begins a few short years after you divided the Court from the Wood, and the Archer cursed the Annan Waters. Suspicion and fear ruled.

“No one spoke of it, but the Court and the Wood were at war.”

 

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So, before we get started, this game is going to be a little unusual. This is not a standard Elimination game. This is not a Faction game. This is not a free-for-all. It’s a bit of all three.

For this game, there will be two game threads, not one. One for the Court, and one for the Wood. Players can only communicate with or PM players in their respective threads, outside of special circumstances. (PMs are night only.) Likewise, there are two factions, Gunnerkrigg and Gillitie. In the Court thread, Gunnerkrigg is Village, and Gillitie Eliminator, and vice versa in the Wood thread. When one game ends, both do. Turns will have th standard 48/24 Day/Night lengths.

Because of the nature of this game, and the source material, there are a few additional mechanics.

The Test. Each player can, once in the game, choose to die. If they do, they will be resurrected into the other thread, given a random non-unique role and have a 60% chance to switch alignments (ergo, villagers will tend to stay villagers, just in the new thread, and elims will tend to stay elims.). 

Mediums, and Meetings. In addition to the lynch vote that each thread has each day, each thread also has a Medium vote, where a player can be given or stripped of the Medium role. Mediums may post/PM in both threads, and gain a neutral alignment, unless they are an Eliminator. Additionally, they can appoint a Guardian from their original thread. This Guardian gains either the Dragonslayer, or Protector of the Forest role, depending on their thread, and gains the win-con of ensuring their Medium’s survival. If the Medium loses their role, so does their Guardian.

In addition to the powers the Medium had before, the appointed Medium gains the ability to call a Meeting. During a Meeting, there is only one thread, and all players can take actions on each other, PM each other, and they have a group lynch. The game cannot end during a Meeting. Meetings cannot be held concurrently.

Again, given the nature of the source material, there are additional secret roles and mechanics that you'll have to discover as you play. These secrets do not belong to any particular faction.

 

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Roles:

Forest:

Hollow Faerie: Hollow Faeries cannot undergo the Test. However, if they are killed, they are automatically resurrected in the other game following standard rules.

Regional Faerie: You have a small power over the Ether. While generally speaking you are harmless, you can be annoying. Target a player, any action they take has a 25% chance to fail, or any action taken against them has a 25% chance to fail.

Air Elemental: Using your mastery over the air, you can PM one player of your choice during the day.

Anwyn/Forest Elf: Although not the most Etherically powerful of Forest dwellers, you come from a strong people, and not many can boast your tolerance for alcohol. During the day, you can slip someone a glass of achewater, and they will pass out and forget to vote.

Rogat Orjak: Despite appearances, you are not a dragon, and would much rather not be compared to one of those barbarians, thank you. Your large size allows you to shrug off most attacks, and makes your fellows reluctant to accuse you, even though you’ve assured them multiple times you’re quite nice, really. (Extra life, optional -1 vote at the end of the Day.)

Shadowperson: One of the remnants of Coyote’s failed attempt to replicate humanity, you have no particular Etheric talents, but you are sneaky. You can follow a player at night and see what actions they take.

Wisp: A masterful illusionist, you can convince anyone of anything. During the day, you can move one player’s vote.

Ysengrin: A wolf spirit who is unswervingly loyal to Coyote, you have an enormously powerful etheric presence. (Kill/Protect) Unique.

Reynard: A trickster-spirit, your etheric skills revolve around misdirection and illusion. (Redirect/Conceal[<-Coppercloud equivalent, blocks Shadowperson scan and vote manipulation, amongst other things.]) Unique.

Protector of the Forest: Gifted enormous power by Coyote to protect your Medium, the very trees have become an extension of your being. In Gillitie Wood, you are all but omnipotent, although you feel your physical body atrophying. Kill, Protect, Roleblock, Redirect, Extra Life. Can use up to two actions each night, however, additional uses count towards atrophy. If they use three actions consecutively, they die. Powers weakened during Meetings (loses the extra action period). Unique.

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Court:

Barrier Mage: You can attempt to protect a player each night. Although you will save them from death, there is a chance they will be injured, unable to place a vote or take actions next cycle.

Witch: Each night you may cast a spell attempt to gauge a player’s intentions. (Basically an alignment scanner, albeit with a chance of failure.)

Telepath: Each day, you are given the option to PM up to three random active players.

Making Everything Boring: Any random effect always lands the way you wish it. Unique. (Note, requires specific targets, and knowledge of the random effects; cannot affect more than two things at once.)

Demi Fire Elemental: One kill attempt per cycle; as with Barrier Mage, it cannot fail completely, but it can injure instead.

Dragonslayer: Trained and warded to enhance your physical abilities to a superhuman degree, you are the greatest warrior of the Court. Two lives, kill/protect. Unique.

Teleport: You can randomly swap two player’s locations, so that actions that would affect one instead affect the other. (Basically, trade actions that would target you for actions targeting a random other player.)

Zeta: Officially speaking, you do not have a power. Unofficially speaking, you are very, very scary. 10% chance each Turn for you and a random number of others to be transported to a nightmarish alternate dimension. If this happens, you will all be put in a PM together for the turn, and be unable to speak in-thread. Each player taken has a 20% chance to die, or change alignments (alignments beyond the simple Court/Forest split...). Actions taken while Zeta’s role is in effect can have unpredictable results. Unique.

Engineer: You specialize in building robots. You can send a drone to stalk a player, either listening in on their conversations or reporting back their actions. High failure chance. However, you can send this outside the Court. If you do, however, and it fails, the drone will attempt to take root, and you will be executed at the next Meeting.

Etheric Scientist: While you have no talent with the Ether yourself, you’ve devoted all your time to studying it. Largely powerless on your own, although you can disrupt or enhance Etheric abilities. (Roleblock or remove failure chance of roles, Engineer excepted.)

 

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Miscellaneous: 

Hello everybody. This game is going to be run by me and @A Joe in the Bush; while we haven't quite finished finalizing things, one of us is probably going to take the Wood Thread, while the other takes the Court. Likewise, rollover time and game start are still up in the air, but a good bet puts the game start between the 8th and the 11th, and rollover at around 11PM central time.

While I know this is a non-Sanderson setting, and not a super well-known one, at that, I'm hoping people will play.  We'll need a lot for this game to last longer than a week or so. (Like, 28 minimum, preferred 30+). If you're interested in getting to know the setting a bit before the game, start here . (Or start here , and jump back to the beginning if it catches your interest. The beginning's a little rough.)

I think Wilson's probably the IM, (since she knows too much. ) And there will be a spec doc available upon request, although I'd much prefer people play. (Seriously. If you're reading this, sign up. Doesn't matter if you've never played SE before, or if it's been a while, we could use the players.)

And I think that's all, folks.  

EDIT: Game now has an official start time. Woooo!  

 

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Player List:

1. Locke Tekiel (Orlok Tsubodai)
2. Marv (Hemalurgic Headshot)
3. Straw (Straw)
4. Elbe (Elbereth)
5. Budgie (A Budgie)
6. Altea Meza (Crimsn-Wolf)
7. Araris Valerian (Araris Valerian)
8. Tautali Laust (Megasif)
9. Centaurus (Darkness Ascendant)
10. Stick (Stick)
11. Carrie Brule (Burnt Spaghetti)
12. Koru (Doc12)
13. Bart Allen (Flash)
14. Clanky (Clanky)
15. The Inspector (Paranoid King)
16. Reginald Canuk (Dalinar Kholin)
17. Sean (Polkinghornbd)
18. Anwir (Drake Marshal)
19. Anansi (Metacognition)
20. Fess (Arinian)
21. John (Winter Devotion)
22. Jordren (Majestic)
23. Small Large (Stink)
24. Lyren (Droughtbringer)
25. Shqueeves (Shqueeves)
26. Pickle (asterion137)
27. Rendren (cloudjumper)
28. Kintas (Jondesu)
29. Lopen (TheMightyLopen)
30. Noah (Eternum)
31. Tarek (Randuir)
32. BrightnessRadiant
33. Ecthelion

Quick Links: (Note that there are separate threads, this is so the game is still readable afterwards.  If we were to merge the two threads together then it would be pure chaos.  Similarly, as of this game, we, the Mods, were unaware of a way to duplicate posts and thus merging the Meetings into one thread but not the other would also cause chaos and so were merged into this thread.  There are posts/edits at the points where the threads change type so you shouldn't have too much trouble reading through.  Hopefully.)
Court:

 

Day One: Orientation
Night One: Puzzlement and Confusion
Day Three: Etheric Tenet
Night Three: Cursed
Day Four: Betrayal
Night Four: Revelation

Forest:

 

Day 1: Everyone loves a good old fashioned Man Hunt right?
Night 1: Into the Woods
Day Three: Chaos
Night 3: A Happy Medium
Day 4: Who protects the Protector?
Night 4: Pics or it didn't happen.

Meetings:

 

Day 2: The First Meeting
Night Two: Distortion
Day Five: The Final Meeting
Night Five: Conflict
Aftermath: An Old Dog's Tricks

[Orlok Tsubodai Scadrian Waffle Cook]

I'll sign up as Locke Tekiel. Still getting my head around the mechanics, but am sure it will be fun.

[Hemalurgic Headshot Full Shardbearer]

Ooh, interesting! I always like signing up for interesting and/or unique games.

I'll be Marv, but schools starts up for me very soon, and it might get in the way a little. But you know, anything for SE?

[Straw Cryptic]

Sign me up as Straw!

EDIT: I really shouldn't play this game... However, I'm going to play it anyway!

Edited August 1, 2017 by Straw

[Elbereth Most Ancient]

Signing up as Elbe. This ought to be fun. 

Note: If this game goes particularly long, I'll go inactive towards the end (around the 29th). I don't expect I'll be alive that long, though. 

[A Budgie Forger]

I'll join up as Budgie. I've never played a SE game, so I don't know how I'll go, but it should be fun.

[Seonid Steel Inquisitor]

2 minutes ago, A Budgie said:

I'll join up as Budgie. I've never played a SE game, so I don't know how I'll go, but it should be fun.

Welcome to the game!

I'll sign up as Najar Wyst

[xxGaea Hazekiller]

I will be signing up as Altea Meza--mainly because this sounds super interesting and fun, and partially because Joe told me I should.  

I look forward to this game, and I will do my best to be more active than I have been in the last games I have played, but I am not a very sociable person, so I apologize. x3

[Madagascar Silent Gatherer]

Will players in the Court be allowed to read or refer to goings on in the Wood thread, and vice versa, or are they to be completely separated domains?

[Aonar Compounder]

They'll be allowed to read and talk about the goings on in the other thread, just not interact directly with it, unless they're a Medium. (So be careful what you say. :P)

[Araris Valerian Enefel]

Well, I'm having a hard time keeping up with LG 36 right now, and I really don't want to sign up for a game that I will be inactive in. So, I'll sign up if I manage to bring my activity level in LG 36 up a bit.

[Clanky Ferring]

I think I actually started reading this a year or so ago. Didn't make it past the first couple chapters or so. Might have to try and start it again if I do join this game. Which will be dependant on whether I'm still going in LG36 since I've made a vow not to play more than one of these games at a time.

[A Joe in the Bush Nightwatcher]

Hello Everyone. You may now vote for which of the threads I will be controlling. Aonar will Preside over the other. Choose wisely, and remember, there is a wrong choice. The Wrong Choice is not voting at all.

@Clanky You're not in LG36 anymore. want to sign up? @Araris Valerian You cannot bring up your activity levels in LG36 anymore. want to try here?

Edited August 1, 2017 by A Joe in the Bush

[Araris Valerian Enefel]

Sure. I'll sign up. I'm not sure what is up in this world, so I'll just be myself; Araris Valerian, the Knight Ferrous.

I vote for Joe! Joe in a Forest sounds way better than Joe in a Court, and it's closer to your username anyways.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Araris Valerian

[Megasif House Lord]

Oh no!

It felt like he'd been through this before. Tautali Laust wandered through the forest-like court, looking this way and that. There wasn't a lot of light. Or was his vision handicapped this time. He could see some blurred figures towards one side. He'd have to get closer to take a proper look. 

Where have I been brought this time? When will all this end?

[Darkness Ascendant Steel Inquisitor]

Darn....

Well then. This at least should motivate me to catch up ha

------

<Stasis lock breached>

Bright bright lights.

Not so pretty aren't they

------

<Centaurus mode activated>

Inbound...

------

Welcome to Gunnerkrigg Court, Centaurus. Please remember. No running.

 

[_Stick_ Forger]

Stick is joining

[Burnt Spaghetti Vanisher]

*sighs*

I wish i hadnt seen this  mentioned in discord because i cannot not play this. Its a comic too dear to me.

I must play!

I MUST!!

(Character to come later)

[Doc12 Shardbearer]

*grumble grumble grumble 

But I caaan't play a new game!!! I'm going to be settling in into college!!!

...sigh You got me. I can't not play this game. 

Signing up as Koru. Now I'm going to go read the comic.

So from the 17th onwards, my activity is going to be very uncertain, as I will be flying to and settling in college in the States. I'll try my best to be on, but forgive any lapses. I promise I'll do my best since I've signed up.

I look forward to scheming plotting killing trying desperately to survive screaming spending way too much time on this  a nice, happy time of debate and fun with you guys!

[Magestar Ferring]

A Gunnerkrigg Court Game?  Starting on the day I'm leaving?  

I've never been so unhappy.  This game looks like it's going to be amazing.  So much opportunity...  -sigh- Curse the foul luck that makes this game unplayable.  

I suppose I'll have a link to the spec doc.  

[Straw Cryptic]

@Ecthelion III Now that you're not GMing, you don't have any excuses for not playing!

[Steeldancer Prime]

Totally joining. 

However I'm iffy about my character. I know what one I should do. However, I also hate that character.

Oh whatever. It's just a name. Signing up as Bart Allen, a bratty guy who's quick on his feet. 

[the winter system Lerasium Mistborn]

Sign me up for the spectator doc. Not ready to jump into a long game just yet.

[Jondesu Midnight Essence]

Yay, a game I don’t feel excessively tempted to join! 

I’ll take a spec doc link.

[Eternum House Lord]

I don't feel like doing 2 games at the same time...

I'll just take a spec doc link.