Mid-Range Game 37/Anonymous Game 6: An Empire is Falling

[Magenta Albatross]

Just check @Amethyst Scorpion’s account, and they’ve logged on 12 hours ago. Their lack of posting therefore is enough to get a vote from me. Amethyst

[Cream Tuatara]

So the votes put down on people last cycle were: (ignoring retractions)

Heron(2) Falcon, Crocodile
Vulture(1) Hyena
Weasel(1) Crocodile
Ostrich(1) Tuatara
Penguin(1) Tuatara
Albatross(1) Mouse
Scorpion(2) Swan, Penguin

Not sure I'm convinced with the suggestions for how Falcon's vote retraction suggest their evil. Only way I see that working is if they really wanted to kill Heron, but rather than lynch directly they ensured that Heron wouldn't be lynched by a retraction and a vote (re)move, so that the kill didn't double up with the lynch. But assuming the Glory faction has no extra info on Heritage roles, then I don't see why any one person would be better to kill than another. Just target someone without a vote on them.

Regarding Falcon's comments about soulstamps, I'm wondering if that supports the idea that there are forgers in this game.

I'm unlikely to be able to make it back online before rollover, so based on the current options I'd probably rather reduce the likelihood of vote manipulation, so I'll add a vote to Amethyst Scorpion.

[Amethyst Scorpion]

OK, OK, I'm awake.  Sorry for not getting on earlier. Logging into anonymous accounts is a pain... (minor, true, but still.)

[Magenta Albatross]

11 minutes ago, Amethyst Scorpion said:

OK, OK, I'm awake.  Sorry for not getting on earlier. Logging into anonymous accounts is a pain... (minor, true, but still.)

Want to explain why you had a vote soothed off of you last turn?

[Amethyst Scorpion]

I have absolutely zero clue. I wasn't even aware that happened, to be honest. I have literally no communication with any other person in this game except via the thread.

[Fuchsia Ostrich]

So Scorpion does not have a passive role that removes votes. Someone decided to intervene, though it is possible whoever it was missed the last 35 minutes of the cycle and Penguin's vote. 

I'm not sure why Elandera would have brought up soulstamps as a requirement for Forgery if Falcon doesn't have a role that would allow for that, but it makes sense that a soulstamp would be required. If roles were not originally designed to be revealed, it makes it less likely that Forgers can recycle dead roles. Perhaps they can resurrect at the cost of another's life.

[Amethyst Scorpion]

I wouldn't think that a soulstamp would allow you to steal roles... It does seem likely that it would allow a change in role of some sort, however.

[Elandera]

One hour to get all your votes and actions in.

[Indigo Weasel]

Wow, sorry to do this last minute, but this is a elim/village game. If Scorpian was an elim or even a third faction, they have showed they are playing this game, so their faction should be defending them right?

But no one is. So I think they are innocent. 

I don't really want to lynch Emerald... first because I think the lynch against them doesn't make any sense, and second for selfish reasons. ; )

Looking at the other players, a quick read through of them is:

1. Amethyst Scorpion - Village
   Been leading the lynch for a while. Up by 2 votes, so Soothing won't save them, if there is Rioting, that isn't even guaranteed to save them either. Elims or a third faction should be defending them. You don't bus an active teammate this easily.
   On top of that, they aren't fighting for their own survival.
2. @Azure Mouse - Neutral/3rd FactionWhy did you think we would learn more about the factions this cycle? You also haven't placed a vote today. Have any opinions?
3. @Charcoal Hyena - Neutral
   Have one post so far this game, containing a poke vote that was never retracted. I see you online right now, who do you think should be lynched?
4. @Chartreuse Penguin - Slight ElimWhy do we have to kill an inactive? In a non-blackout non-anon game, we wouldn't be killing inactives right now, because it diminishes the amount of info we gain. On top of that, you were last online an hour ago, around the same time Amethyst showed they weren't inactive. If you want to lynch an inactive, why not change your vote.
   
   Ok, these are the people I have yet to look at:
5. Coral Swan
6. Cream Tuatara
7. Emerald Falcon
8. Fuchsia Ostrich
9. Indigo Weasel
10. Ivory Dragonfly
11. Magenta Albatross
12. Mauve Crocodile
13. Melon Dingo

But I don't have time if I want others to be able to see this and change their vote. So I'll keep looking at them, but my vote is going on Penguin.

Amethyst Scorpion
Chartreuse Penguin

[Fuchsia Ostrich]

I took Penguin out as nobody attempted vote manipulation to prevent their lynch, but I suppose it's possible that having two votes on Scorpion and one on three other non-Penguins would make manipulation seem unnecessary.

If Scorpion is evil, there are presumably vote manipulators backing them up. That would make it not necessary and perhaps actively harmful for elim teammates to mount a public defence when it's so much easier to lynch Falcon. Scorpion apparently had not made PMs with anyone nor received any messages. I'm not sure how Scorpion missed that a vote had been removed when everyone was asking in thread though. 

The main thing I see against Falcon is that they knew Heron had died where Crocodile and Weasel did not. I will not be voting there.

I don't know how I missed it the first several times, but @Azure Mouse, why did you say there was vote manipulation with Chartreuse Penguin? There's no reason Swan's vote couldn't have been the one removed. This could be evil, evidence of Mouse saving Scorpion, or missaying Heron though.

I will vote for Penguin, I think.

Scorpion - 3 Swan, Penguin, Tuatara
Falcon - 2 Crocodile, Dingo
Penguin - 2 Weasel, Ostrich

[Elandera]

This turn has ended. The new cycle will be posted soon.

[Elandera]

“We made a mistake,” said one arbiter. “A mistake that won’t happen again. The loss of the Head Arbiter is regrettable. We need to stop this threat.”

A rememberer, dressed as a simple scorpion, sidled up to a group of costumed people. Several people agreed with the statement, and the scorpion found himself nodding as well. He felt so out of place, so uncomfortable in the room full of such important people. He was a simple rememberer, given the chance to attend a masquerade now that he finally had a day off work.

“Did anyone actually see what happened?”

A few shook their heads, but most just didn’t reply. A few of them found solace in knowing they were wearing masks. Maybe they could avoid being targeted if they remained anonymous. Especially if they didn’t get involved.

The scorpion was content to just listen. He rarely had the chance to be involved in such discussions. No one was being direct in their conversation, so he felt lost. His mind drifted away, back to his home where a canvas sat drying. It was almost complete. His masterpiece. The painting that would make his name known among the greats. Maybe even as well known as Han ShuXen.

“I don’t remember seeing the scorpion there last night. Maybe you know something about what happened?”

A few among the crowd chimed quiet agreements. His attention was drawn back to the present, and is eyes grew wide.

“My- my apologies,” they stammered. “I had work that needed completing last night.

“Did you know someone would be killed last night? Is that why you didn’t show?”

“No. I don’t even know– What did happen, anyway?”

It was too late. Self-important people had decided the Scorpion’s fate. One signaled for a few guards to remove the scorpion, and several walked away.

“Wait!” One person stepped forward, attempting to stop the guards. “Why would he show up at all if he were guilty? Surely, he must be innocent. At least for now.”

The scorpion felt hope surge within him. Maybe there was still a chance.

But no. No one was left to hear the plea for mercy. His fate was decided. His masterpiece would forever remain incomplete.

Who would remember him?

---

So many feathers. The captain of the guard shifted her ridiculous costume, causing a few of the feathers to fall. She was a Striker, not some festival-loving arbiter. However, the emperor had insisted she blend in. There was a threat, and she had to stop it. Even if it meant dressing like an ostrich.

The crowd shifted constantly as important people within the Rose Empire, disguised behind masks and robes, jockeyed for better positioning. It was worthless, really. They didn’t really know the person behind the mask.

She felt someone nudge her side, and she jumped. A tall man was standing behind her. The emperor. He was given away by his bearing. How did I lose track of him so easily? The captain hated that he, too, insisted on being anonymous. While she knew it would be 

“You’re supposed to be blending in,” he whispered.

“Your majesty.” She bowed her head slightly. “With all due respect, my job is first to protect you and everyone here.”

“Which might be difficult if you are spotted. Go. Pretend to be one of us for an evening. It’s actually quite relaxing to be someone different for a while.”

Without fanfare, the emperor moved along to another group of people. The captain sighed, and shifted the feathers of her costume again. At least it moved easily. The emperor was right. Besides, his word was law, so mingle she must.

She plastered a smile onto her face, which would be barely visible underneath her mask, and moved toward a large group. There was one among them who seemed to be glancing nervously around. Maybe this would be a good time for questioning, especially with the amount of drink that was making its rounds.

A man in a white porcelain mask intercepted her, giving her a slight bow. “Captain.”

Her hand went to a dagger hidden in the folds of feathers, but she smiled. She pitched her voice up slightly, trying to sound more feminine. “You must have me mistaken, sir.”

“No, I’m quite certain.” He stepped closer. “Your mask doesn’t cover your eyes. No one else is quite as aware. No one else watches like you.”

A chill ran down the captain’s spine. Something was wrong with this man. He was a Grand, yes. Probably an arbiter. Is he the one I’ve been hunting? She didn’t respond, so he continued.

“When we bring down the Heritage faction, you can still have a place with us. Strikers would be invaluable.”

She scoffed. A captain would not turn traitor so easily, especially not when the arbiters of the Heritage faction had done so much for her family. “We’d rather die than do it your way. They are under my protection.”

“It is sad you won’t be able to protect them much longer.”

She drew her dagger at his words, but in a flash, he rammed something hard and cold between the feathers of her costume. They did not provide nearly enough armor, and the blade slid easily between her ribs, piercing her heart. 

“Who will protect them now, I wonder?” He tore the dagger away and melded into the crowd.

The captain collapsed to the floor, her heart beating out of rhythm. The blood stained the feathers as she took a final, shuddering breath.

---

Amethyst Scorpion was lynched! They were a Rememberer for the Heritage Faction.
Fuchsia Ostrich was killed! They were a Striker for the Heritage Faction.

Vote Count:

Amethyst Scorpion (4) - Chartreuse Penguin, Coral Swan, Cream Tuatara, Magenta Albatross
Chartreuse Penguin (2) - Fuchsia Ostrich, Indigo Weasel
Emerald Falcon (2) - Mauve Crocodile, Melon Dingo

Player Count

Spoiler

1. Amber Vulture Head Arbiter of the Heritage Faction
2. Amethyst Scorpion Rememberer of the Heritage Faction
3. Azure Mouse
4. Charcoal Hyena
5. Chartreuse Penguin
6. Coral Swan
7. Cream Tuatara
8. Emerald Falcon
9. Fuchsia Ostrich Striker of the Heritage Faction
10. Indigo Weasel
11. Ivory Dragonfly
12. Magenta Albatross
13. Mauve Crocodile
14. Melon Dingo
15. Mint Heron Heritage Faction

Revealed Rules and Roles

Spoiler

Head Arbiter of the Heritage Faction - Change the vote of someone who’s already voted
Rememberer - Has a 50% chance to receive an order to create a piece of art each turn. They cannot use the art, but can send it to other players
Striker - Has access to a kill they can use up to three times per game

Rule Reminder:
PMs are open
No vote minimum
Tied lynches will be decided at random and one person will be lynched

This cycle will close Sunday, September 15th at 11 a.m. PST

***WARNING: I may or may not be online at the time the turn ends. No votes or actions after 11 a.m. will be considered valid. The new cycle may be a bit late in getting posted.***

Edited September 14, 2019 by Elandera

[Emerald Falcon]

Hmm. It seems we are on our way toward Lylo, or worse, a perfect elim game.

If the rememberer can create art, then we know that there must be some use to the art. It has no use, meaning it has no abilities. But perhaps if a person or group collects enough, then they win?

This brings up the question if there are more rememberers, or if there's other ways to pick up the art, or if there's a way to activate their uses.

I'll try to have time to at least perform a rudimentary analysis at some point in this cycle, but no promises.

[Azure Mouse]

Interesting. Emerald Falcon, you mentioned have Forgery. Is it possible to soulstamp art? Does it mean anything to you?

@Indigo Weasel, apologies for not responding before the end of the cycle. I was busy and couldn't get back on before rollover. Regarding my comment, I was waiting to see what actions were used/who died/etc and what information that would give us regarding factions. Of course, so far there is not a confirmed neutral faction and Elandera has already said that this is more or less a traditional eliminator/village game.

The loss of the Striker is regretful. They are the only edge (so far that we know of) we have against the Elims. I bet we still have one, but whoever you are, please do not reveal yourself.

[Emerald Falcon]

7 minutes ago, Azure Mouse said:

Interesting. Emerald Falcon, you mentioned have Forgery. Is it possible to soulstamp art? Does it mean anything to you

I attempted to forge myself into a new person. It didn't work, because I didn't have a soulstamp. It could be possible to soulstamp art, but as far as I know, it has no use. There is also supposedly no way for me to obtain soulsamps.

 I've got something that might be art, that I'd be willing to pass to someone to try to soul stamp if you have a soulstamp. PM me to discuss the matter.

[Melon Dingo]

@Elandera, is there a reason that the head arbiter role is listed as green, and the other two are given in black?

[Elandera]

6 minutes ago, Melon Dingo said:

@Elandera, is there a reason that the head arbiter role is listed as green, and the other two are given in black?

PAFO

[Ivory Dragonfly]

Well. There werent any vote shenanigans this cycle. And we keep losing people with roles. Has to make me wonder if people are pming the wrong people and sharing too much information, or if we're just plain unlucky.

Edit: 

Quote

is there a reason that the head arbiter role is listed as green, and the other two are given in black?

@Melon Dingo  This makes me think that the arbiter was a heritage only role, but the other two can be any alignment

Edited September 14, 2019 by Ivory Dragonfly

[Melon Dingo]

2 hours ago, Elandera said:

PAFO

Awwww

2 hours ago, Ivory Dragonfly said:

 

@Melon Dingo  This makes me think that the arbiter was a heritage only role, but the other two can be any alignment

I guess that makes sense. Though the head arbiter role also specifically calls out their faction. Maybe every faction has a head arbiter?

I'm not certain who to vote for right now, but I'm considering lynching someone that voted on scorpion. I feel like the Scorpion lynch last cycle didn't make too much sense. I can get that having an inactive person can be annoying, but they aren't really doing anything one way or another, so they aren't really a threat either. Am I missing something here?

[Emerald Falcon]

8 hours ago, Melon Dingo said:

I'm not certain who to vote for right now, but I'm considering lynching someone that voted on scorpion. I feel like the Scorpion lynch last cycle didn't make too much sense. I can get that having an inactive person can be annoying, but they aren't really doing anything one way or another, so they aren't really a threat either. Am I missing something here?

I kindof agree with this. I wanna lynch someone who voted on scorpion, as I feel like it was an attempt by the elims to make it look like they were saving me to make me look like an elim. 

But I'm not an elim, so that didnt work. Either that or they were trying to save chartreuse penguin. 

[Chartreuse Penguin]

5 hours ago, Emerald Falcon said:

I kindof agree with this. I wanna lynch someone who voted on scorpion, as I feel like it was an attempt by the elims to make it look like they were saving me to make me look like an elim. 

But I'm not an elim, so that didnt work. Either that or they were trying to save chartreuse penguin. 

That explanation doesn't pan out. I didn't get any votes on myself until after Amethyst Scorpion had posted. So then, where does that leave us? I'm going to vote on you Emerald Falcon. You mentioned that we are at LYLO today. How would you glean that information? Having two villager lynches shouldn't end the town's chance right off the bat, so I'm curious how you arrived at that logic.

[Coral Swan]

There are 15 players, and if there were only villagers and eliminators, then there might be three or four eliminators.  However, there are probably neutrals, so I think that there would not be as many eliminators.  In addition, this is a blackout, so the eliminators have an advantage.  Due to this, I think that there are probably only two  or three eliminators.  I would estimate the distribution as two to three eliminators, nine to twelve villagers, and one to three neutrals.

[Melon Dingo]

I've done some reading back of the last cycle. The first person to try to vote for an inactive was Weasel, but they voted for mint heron first. Since the wolves probably killed heron, I don't think a wolf would make that mistake?

Coral swan voted for scorpion after that with no reason given, and penguin stated that they believed that scorpion needed to be lynched 'because it must be done'. Cream tuatara was the last vote, because they wanted to prevent vote manipulation.

I think of these 4, penguin and swan are the most suspicious given how little they explained their vote, and I'll put a vote on coral swan for now.

[Cream Tuatara]

Sorry for leaving it so late to post - I was out all yesterday. I had started writing a post but didn't get time to post it, so I've updated it a bit.

On 14/09/2019 at 6:53 PM, Melon Dingo said:

Awwww

I guess that makes sense. Though the head arbiter role also specifically calls out their faction. Maybe every faction has a head arbiter?

I'm not certain who to vote for right now, but I'm considering lynching someone that voted on scorpion. I feel like the Scorpion lynch last cycle didn't make too much sense. I can get that having an inactive person can be annoying, but they aren't really doing anything one way or another, so they aren't really a threat either. Am I missing something here?

I'd probably agree with you that the other roles presumably weren't faction specific so were black, and the assumption that each faction has at least 1 unique role seems reasonable.

Voting on inactives is weird. They are more often villagers than not (though that's also largely due to there being more villagers than eliminators), but keeping active villagers alive for longer is preferable to lynching the active villagers and then letting the eliminators sweep up the inactive villagers at the end. It just means the village ends up walking the line as they have less opportunities to miss lynch. Hopefully not something we'll have to worry about going forwards though.

Everything was so spread out on Day 1 that while I'm sure the eliminators voted, I think that the main guesses we could make would be based on the changes to player votes. So I would be more inclined to believe Azure Mouse to be village as they had a vote shifted to them. I feel like unless they were protecting themselves, villagers are less likely to mess with the day 1 lynch than the eliminators are. Beyond that, I'd probably imagine one of the voters Day 1 would be an eliminator, though probably not any more than that. Day 1 voters were myself (Cream Tuatara), Mauve Crocodile, Charcoal Hyena, Coral Swan, Chartreuse Penguin, Emerald Falcon (though they removed their vote entirely) and Azure Mouse, all of whom are still alive.

Penguin's late vote (30 min before rollover) might be an eliminator who had hoped that the vote would be removed and when it wasn't tried to force a different lynch. Swan and Crocodile's removed votes (I assume it was Swan's that was removed given Penguin voted so late) could also be eliminators intentionally removing their own vote to make it look like they were targeted when none of them were in any danger so it didn't matter who was lynched. I feel like one of Crocodile or Swan doing this is more likely than Penguin being an eliminator coming in late to try and save themselves. 

Looking at the rest of the game since, if it were earlier in the cycle, I would probably put pressure on Charcoal Hyena, as they posted once near the start of the first cycle and haven't since, even though they've been online. Next cycle maybe.

For this cycle then, I'd probably opt for one of Coral Swan or Mauve Crocodile, based on the cycle one vote manipulations. I'd probably lean more towards Crocodile because of this post: 

The final paragraph, they specifically bring up the idea of Swan's vote on Scorpion being (re)moved as something the eliminators could do, but thought it was unlikely. Bringing it up and then immediately dismissing the thought as it being an unlikely play for an eliminator would be a nice way of diverting attention away from the fact that they may have done that exact thing with Crocodile to try and garner them trust. 

I'll put my vote on Mauve Crocodile for the moment then, but I may change it later if no one else votes (likely to Coral Swan) - again, I'd rather have 2 or 3 votes on a player than to allow the lynch to be at the whims of any vote manipulators.

[Coral Swan]

3 hours ago, Melon Dingo said:

I've done some reading back of the last cycle. The first person to try to vote for an inactive was Weasel, but they voted for mint heron first. Since the wolves probably killed heron, I don't think a wolf would make that mistake?

Coral swan voted for scorpion after that with no reason given, and penguin stated that they believed that scorpion needed to be lynched 'because it must be done'. Cream tuatara was the last vote, because they wanted to prevent vote manipulation.

I think of these 4, penguin and swan are the most suspicious given how little they explained their vote, and I'll put a vote on coral swan for now.

I voted on Amethyst Scorpion last cycle as a poke vote.  Given that they had not posted at the time of my vote, I assumed that people would know that I was using the same reason I had used in the first cycle.  I was not around at any time after I posted, so I did not know about Amethyst posting.  If I had seen his post, I would have retracted my vote.