Long Game 105: Obliteration

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

Fair enough, thank you for your services for the village o7 TJ

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

I...

*big, dramatic pause*

Shall make a a longer post tomorrow morning 

But for now, I support TJ's idea

Also, I suspect that at least one of the doppelgangers in question (of which I suspect there will be four of, at least, by the end of this turn) is Quivil.

Also, we're still missing a lot of reports

@RoyalBeeMage@Quivil@KelsierApologist@The Wandering Wizard

[Ashbringer he/him]

9 hours ago, |TJ| said:

It is EXPLICITLY stated that this ability only works if I am removed and NOT if I am killed, which is why I did not want to reveal it last cycle.

Just a note on this as the Medic - it does seem that there is some form of attack that my role describes, but it's not a normal one. It might be a thing where there's stages to being attacked or injured, and what my role does does different things depending on what that condition is.

That being said, TJ.

That seems like a LG92 role... nope, think I remembered it wrong.

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

8 hours ago, |TJ| said:

Yes. 

Your sacrifice won’t be in vain I hope 

TJ

Edited May 5, 2025 by RoyalBeeMage

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

Twelve year old Adam had hidden in the darkness. Panting from exhaustion, his back had ached against the grainy plaster wall of the outside of the motel. The events of the recent past had raced through his mind; no, his mind had raced through the events, pulled down by the current, reaching for a handhold. But all it had found was screams. The screams. The blows. And then the order.

Then came the thump. It was preceded by the breaking glass, and followed by a bitter silence. Terrified, panting, soaked, Adam had gone to investigate. And found a wave so deep it finally drowned him.

…

Twenty-five year old Adam sat patiently in the communal area, and observed. This night was more subdued than others. As if everyone was scared. Or they had reason to keep their mouths quiet.

The reveal of the Linguist had shaken things up. He claimed to be able to harm the doppelgängers, if only they sent him back. It reeked of a plot to Adam. No real harm could be done to the doppelgängers, and it would benefit the Linguist to go back to base. He was a coward. But Adam would not stop him.

Yeah, on second thought, that’s a negative on TJ. It won’t be enough to stop him from being sent back, but can we analyze this for a second here?

We already established that no amount of exes will ever hurt the doppels. If anything, we’re just disposing if a valuable asset in TJ.I don’t care if he’s turning into a doppelgänger; a flawed source is still better than none. I’m going no vote.

Maybe TJ even has a new wincon that allows him to win by getting sent home, and we’re just playing into his hands.

On the topic of doppels: right now, I’m sus of anyone who isn’t giving reports. That means @KelsierApologist@RoyalBeeMage@The Wandering Wizard, and definitely @Quivil

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

3 hours ago, Hoid Slayer said:

Twelve year old Adam had hidden in the darkness. Panting from exhaustion, his back had ached against the grainy plaster wall of the outside of the motel. The events of the recent past had raced through his mind; no, his mind had raced through the events, pulled down by the current, reaching for a handhold. But all it had found was screams. The screams. The blows. And then the order.

Then came the thump. It was preceded by the breaking glass, and followed by a bitter silence. Terrified, panting, soaked, Adam had gone to investigate. And found a wave so deep it finally drowned him.

…

Twenty-five year old Adam sat patiently in the communal area, and observed. This night was more subdued than others. As if everyone was scared. Or they had reason to keep their mouths quiet.

The reveal of the Linguist had shaken things up. He claimed to be able to harm the doppelgängers, if only they sent him back. It reeked of a plot to Adam. No real harm could be done to the doppelgängers, and it would benefit the Linguist to go back to base. He was a coward. But Adam would not stop him.

Yeah, on second thought, that’s a negative on TJ. It won’t be enough to stop him from being sent back, but can we analyze this for a second here?

We already established that no amount of exes will ever hurt the doppels. If anything, we’re just disposing if a valuable asset in TJ.I don’t care if he’s turning into a doppelgänger; a flawed source is still better than none. I’m going no vote.

Maybe TJ even has a new wincon that allows him to win by getting sent home, and we’re just playing into his hands.

On the topic of doppels: right now, I’m sus of anyone who isn’t giving reports. That means @KelsierApologist@RoyalBeeMage@The Wandering Wizard, and definitely @Quivil

Honestly I don't really care to much at this point, mine is basically the same as TJ's with some flavor differences and that I left him to finish reading it.

[Ashbringer he/him]

4 hours ago, Hoid Slayer said:

We already established that no amount of exes will ever hurt the doppels. If anything, we’re just disposing if a valuable asset in TJ.I don’t care if he’s turning into a doppelgänger; a flawed source is still better than none. I’m going no vote.

Uh… what exactly established that? You’ve suggested it but I don’t remember any specific new info on that from last cycle.

Hopefully V!TJ wouldn’t be lying, but even if there’s not much accomplished by exeing a doppel, it’s essentially the only option we’ve got to do something about them at the moment.

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

Cycle over by a few minutes. Rollover is coming fairly soon.

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

Long Game 105 - Day Four: Expulsion

The discussion clearly turned to mental instability once again. But then, surprising everyone, the Linguist put themself forward. Their own mental instability concerned them.

They volunteered to return to tell Central of our efforts so far. Enough people agreed, whether for the Linguist's sanity or to inform Central.

They returned.

~

LG105 Day Four has begun! 

The Linguist (TJ) has been sent back to Central! 

Linguist: They have been tasked with analyzing the linguistic remnants from before the Event. They will have a higher success rate when exploring the Lighthouse. 

TJ has won! This will not necessarily remove them from the game. They will have this turn to decide.

Votecount:

TJ (4): TJ, Wiz, Ash, RBM

Things to Note:

• You can Explore locations today, but voting does not resume until the next turn.
• Actions can be sent in within your GMPM and must specify a location to search.
• Remember that all italics are purely flavor!
• And even the non italicized mechanical text can be misleading without full context. 
• Remember also that it is against the rules to directly quote from your GMPM, only paraphrasing is allowed. 
• Rollover will be in one day at 12:30 on Tuesday the 6th of May.

Players:

Spoiler

1. @|TJ| Linguist
2. @KelsierApologist  @IllweiPsychologist 
3. @The Wandering Wizard Surveyor
4. @Ashbringer Medic
5. @Quivil Biologist Team Leader
6. @Hoid Slayer Anthropologist 
7. @RoyalBeeMage Archeologist

Available Locations for Exploration:

Spoiler

Base Camp

You have arrived, after a now foggy and forgotten journey from the border, to the Base Camp. You found stored supplies to supplement what you traveled with. You set up your tents and equipment, which is outdated due to the proscription of modern technology in Area X. 

Perhaps it wouldn't be polite to go snooping through someone's tents, but what they don't know can't hurt them. 

Besides, can they really blame you for looking for clues as to their humanity?

Linguist's Tent

Psychologist's Tent

Surveyor's Tent

Medic's Tent

Biologist's Tent

Anthropologist's Tent

Archeologist's Tent

Abandoned Village 

The records from previous expeditions speak of an abandoned village in the same direction as the Lighthouse. Not much is known about this village, but the records claim that previous searches proved fruitless.

Perhaps with the Surveyor's newly detailed maps, you can find something more here. The previous expeditions found nothing, hey, maybe you'll be special.

The Tunnel

You have learned some about this mysterious structure, but surely there must be something at the bottom of those stairs or a message in those cryptic words.

Lighthouse

The Lighthouse is perhaps the most prominent feature of Area X. You have been tasked with exploring it and uncovering the information hidden therein. Even if you weren't under orders, you would still feel drawn there. Something inexplicable pulls you. As if its long dormant light were focused on you and only you.

Island Y

Little is known of this island except its existence. It is not considered a priority, but there must be some information hidden in its own smaller lighthouse and village.

Up the Coast 

It has been determined that the secret of Area X does not lie along the coast. It is outside the purview of your mission, though you may explore here if necessary. 

 

Edited May 6, 2025 by The Unknown Area

[Ashbringer he/him]

... huh

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

I wonder if we just have to fulfill our individual objectives and then be sent back

[Quivil]

Sorry for not reporting yesterday.

I went to the village and found nothing. If you want italics info I can give it.

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

KelsierApologist has been replaced by @Illwei!

Everyone welcome Illwei into the game.

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

Hello!

 

also the reason I never reported yesterday was because I never received a write up, just the mechanical text 

Edited May 5, 2025 by RoyalBeeMage

[Illwei]

Gonna start by noting this is a FFA game, didn't realize that before but then again I don't think anyone really truly did until TJ was removed. 

Other thing to note is that the dopplegangers /aren't/ something that we need to worry about. Either we win as the dopplegangers or we win with our wincons. there is functionally no reason to be worried about then from what i can see. 

 

Most likely Hoid is one of the dopplegangers atm, based on their adventure to the village with me on C3 and their post on C4 being a no vote on TJ, and no comment really about what they saw with me at the coast. I think the change in posting is pretty notable there. 

Again, I'm not really worried about this. Whether the rest of us become converted or not it doesn't matter, we can't lose if we have the new return anew wincon by then. 

 

In addition i would like to kill wiz next cycle. I don't know how i feel about ash's push there, but Wiz has been the one person who hasn't been talking much about what is happening when they search. I see this as negative utility to trying to figure this place out as we have very little reason not to be as open as possible. 

Yes, it is a FFA game of sorts, but until we can know our real win conditions we have no reason to assume the worst. Ain't nothing wrong with wiz doing something secret to win the game for themselves, but also if we want to win the game we need transparency and discussion about what we're finding. Secrets only hurt us (as a whole) here. 

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

I don't really say much cuz I can't really be bothered to paraphrase italicized text that just tells me I failed and that it's increased the success chance for everyone again. 

I'm heading up the coast to see if there's anything there as I don't remember if anyone has gone there yet.

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

Hidden

  6 hours ago,  The Unknown Area said:

Long Game 105 - Day Four: Expulsion

The discussion clearly turned to mental instability once again. But then, surprising everyone, the Linguist put themself forward. Their own mental instability concerned them.

They volunteered to return to tell Central of our efforts so far. Enough people agreed, whether for the Linguist's sanity or to inform Central.

They returned.

~

LG105 Day Four has begun! 

The Linguist (TJ) has been sent back to Central! 

Linguist: They have been tasked with analyzing the linguistic remnants from before the Event. They will have a higher success rate when exploring the Lighthouse. 

TJ has won! This will not necessarily remove them from the game. They will have this turn to decide.

Votecount:

TJ (4): TJ, Wiz, Ash, RBM

Things to Note:

• You can Explore locations today, but voting does not resume until the next turn.
• Actions can be sent in within your GMPM and must specify a location to search.
• Remember that all italics are purely flavor!
• And even the non italicized mechanical text can be misleading without full context. 
• Remember also that it is against the rules to directly quote from your GMPM, only paraphrasing is allowed. 
• Rollover will be in one day at 12:30 on Tuesday the 6th of May.

Players:

  Reveal hidden contents

Available Locations for Exploration:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Expand  

*sigh*

This is exactly what I was worried about. TJ likely discovered a new wincon for himself, and fooled us into helping him win. In voting him out, we played right into his hands, and helped the doppels by reducing their enemies.

  3 hours ago,  Quivil said:

Sorry for not reporting yesterday.

I went to the village and found nothing. If you want italics info I can give it.

Yes. We want more info. I’ll release an updated version of the chart of everything we know later.

  2 hours ago,  Illwei said:

Gonna start by noting this is a FFA game, didn't realize that before but then again I don't think anyone really truly did until TJ was removed. 

Other thing to note is that the dopplegangers /aren't/ something that we need to worry about. Either we win as the dopplegangers or we win with our wincons. there is functionally no reason to be worried about then from what i can see. 

Expand  

YESSSSS. THANK YOU.

  2 hours ago,  Illwei said:

Most likely Hoid is one of the dopplegangers atm, based on their adventure to the village with me on C3 and their post on C4 being a no vote on TJ, and no comment really about what they saw with me at the coast. I think the change in posting is pretty notable there. 

 

NOOOOO

In all seriousness, you’re right, I did find something else at the coast. I found a new wincon, like TJ did. But I swear I am ignoring it entirely; my primary focus is on helping the team. I’m saving my new wincon as a last result.

  19 minutes ago,  The Wandering Wizard said:

I don't really say much cuz I can't really be bothered to paraphrase italicized text that just tells me I failed and that it's increased the success chance for everyone again. 

I'm heading up the coast to see if there's anything there as I don't remember if anyone has gone there yet.

Me and Polly went there last time. I, at least, found nothing except for that new wincon.

Sorry for that. I accidentally hid my first post and copy pasted

[Illwei]

Im going to say the wincon because i believe that we are supposed to find it. I think we all want to get out of here and we have to find the wincons to do so. 

So:

If you go to the coast you will get the wincon to leave on a boat. It says there are two locations with boats. This specifically states it can't be completed by those who have the return anew wincon, which i find strange because that implies wincons /normally/ can stack. Yet my old wincon didn't stack.

This is what implies to me that the starting wincon isn't a real wincon at all, but a placeholder for when we do find our wincons. 

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

3 minutes ago, Illwei said:

Im going to say the wincon because i believe that we are supposed to find it. I think we all want to get out of here and we have to find the wincons to do so. 

So:

If you go to the coast you will get the wincon to leave on a boat. It says there are two locations with boats. This specifically states it can't be completed by those who have the return anew wincon, which i find strange because that implies wincons /normally/ can stack. Yet my old wincon didn't stack.

This is what implies to me that the starting wincon isn't a real wincon at all, but a placeholder for when we do find our wincons. 

Huh well the island had a boat and that makes a lot of sense to me. Because our starting wincon really isn't a wincon at all. And I haven't discovered any secret ones yet. I increase the chance of other people finding stuff but it doesn't apply to my luck as I've been terrible at finding anything.

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

1 hour ago, Illwei said:

Im going to say the wincon because i believe that we are supposed to find it. I think we all want to get out of here and we have to find the wincons to do so. 

So:

If you go to the coast you will get the wincon to leave on a boat. It says there are two locations with boats. This specifically states it can't be completed by those who have the return anew wincon, which i find strange because that implies wincons /normally/ can stack. Yet my old wincon didn't stack.

This is what implies to me that the starting wincon isn't a real wincon at all, but a placeholder for when we do find our wincons. 

Ooh, that's interesting

Yeah, that's the same thing I found, but I wasn't sure if I should go around advertising it

I assume the two boats means only two people can win this way, even if more than two people have the wincon

2 hours ago, The Wandering Wizard said:

I don't really say much cuz I can't really be bothered to paraphrase italicized text that just tells me I failed and that it's increased the success chance for everyone again. 

I'm heading up the coast to see if there's anything there as I don't remember if anyone has gone there yet.

Me and Polly just did. See above.

4 hours ago, Illwei said:

In addition i would like to kill wiz next cycle. I don't know how i feel about ash's push there, but Wiz has been the one person who hasn't been talking much about what is happening when they search. I see this as negative utility to trying to figure this place out as we have very little reason not to be as open as possible. 

Yes, it is a FFA game of sorts, but until we can know our real win conditions we have no reason to assume the worst. Ain't nothing wrong with wiz doing something secret to win the game for themselves, but also if we want to win the game we need transparency and discussion about what we're finding. Secrets only hurt us (as a whole) here. 

Forgot to address this earlier, but... what? You literally said we should ignore the doppels, and now you suggest voting out Wiz for suspicious behavior? If he's acting funny, then let's play it safe and just take his info with a grain of salt. Express discontent, pressure him, but don't vote him out. Cause if we do that and we're wrong, the doppels are one step closer to winning.

Of course, I don't even know whether I should be too worried about the doppels anymore, with all this business of new wincons.

1 hour ago, The Wandering Wizard said:

Huh well the island had a boat and that makes a lot of sense to me. Because our starting wincon really isn't a wincon at all. And I haven't discovered any secret ones yet. I increase the chance of other people finding stuff but it doesn't apply to my luck as I've been terrible at finding anything.

It's not about discovering "your" secret wincon, it's just about getting lucky with the exploration

Speaking of the exploration:

Seeing as as far as I can tell, we have zero information about the island, that's where I'm heading now

  Hide contents

Topographical Anomaly / Inverted Tower: C1 (Polly, Quivil) C2 (Quivil) C3 (TJ, Wiz)

  Hide contents

Pretty much nothing was known at the start.

C1 (almost definitely legit):

Was never described in previous missions.

Disc of stone / short, cylindrical pedestal protruding from the ground. On top of disc, rectangular opening with a spiral staircase leading down into Tunnel.

Leads to landings with arched doorways.

Every so often, landings branch off.

Writing on wall references jealous searchers searching for something despite continued failure. Sentences never seem to end.

Writing is actually fungus, spits spores at Quivil when she gets close.

Return Anew wincon discovered; creates doppelgangers.

My notes:

Return Anew was likely released by the spores. Wonder if Quivil can do something similar in other places? @Quivil would be useful to know your ability.

Fully agree with @|TJ| going to explore the writing here.

C2:

Found nothing.

My notes: I really think we shouldn't be sending people to the same place multiple times. Also, I don't really trust Quivil, but I think this info is probably legit.

C3:

Tunnel is a living, breathing, moving thing

Walls made seemingly of flesh

Something about "sinners who are worms in nature"

At least one player who visited the tower is now a doppel

My notes:

Huh. Sinners who are worms in nature likely refers to the doppels. As for the player who is now a doppel, my money's on Quivil and maybe Polly / Illwei (don't like how Illwei is going aggro and seemingly contradicting herself)

Lighthouse: C1 (TJ, Ash) C2 (TJ)

  Hide contents

Most prominent feature of Area X. We were tasked with exploring it and uncovering the information within. Even if we weren't within orders, we would still feel drawn there. Something inexplicable pulls us. As if its long dormant light were focused on us and only us.

C1 (almost definitely legit):

Picked up a family portrait of some kind.

Found squat.

C2:

Noticed a new rug, with hidden trapdoor. Leads to pile of books with journals of past expeditions. Confirmed everyone starts with same wincon.

My notes: I don't really know.

Village: C1 (Wiz, Royal Bee Mage) C2 (Hoid, Polly)

  Hide contents

Just an abandoned village on the way to the lighthouse.

C1 (almost definitely legit):

Surveyor had large detached maps (Wiz, care to explain?)

Buildings look like they've been decaying for far too long, collapsed and destroyed.

Plant-people everywhere.

Spooked by animal noises.

My notes:

Besides Wiz's maps, I wonder if seeing the plant-people has anything to do with Bee's ability, and if perhaps we should prioritize sending him to places. I also wonder if these have anything to do with the doppelgangers. The animal noises are also a little sus, but maybe just flavor. @The Wandering Wizard, did you also see the plant-people?

C2:

Found nothing.

Village looks much older than it really is. Small objects seem to have vanished entirely. Entire place is covered in strange vines and plants, but no humanoids. I tried to touch a strange plant, but just got a splitting headache and an eery sense of wrongness.

My notes: I wonder if what I saw as strange plants are the same thing Bee interpreted as people, due to some unique ability. I feel like there is more to explore here.

Island Y:

  Hide contents

Little is known except for its existence. Not considered a priority, but there could be some hidden information in its own lighthouse and village.

 

Up the Coast: C3 (Polly, Hoid)

  Hide contents

We are made to believe the secret of Area X does not lie here. Miserable, marshy terrain.

C3:

The deeper we went into the coast, a feeling of perfection intensified, almost creepily, like we could stay there forever

Received new wincon to escape along the coast

Received same wincon

My notes:

So, we know at least two people who went here received this wincon. Maybe its worth sending other people, although only two would actually be able to escape? Otherwise, I don't think any other big secrets reside here

 

 

[Illwei]

2 hours ago, Hoid Slayer said:

Forgot to address this earlier, but... what? You literally said we should ignore the doppels, and now you suggest voting out Wiz for suspicious behavior? If he's acting funny, then let's play it safe and just take his info with a grain of salt. Express discontent, pressure him, but don't vote him out. Cause if we do that and we're wrong, the doppels are one step closer to winning.

The issue is, if someone is hiding information from the masses, the only reason is because that info could hurt them. people leaving the game hurts the people still in the game. whatnot. 

[Ashbringer he/him]

I can also head toward the island, the camp isn't really getting anywhere.

[Quivil]

Last turn's summary: I go to the village. The people-plants are creepy. There's nothing smaller than a building left, but I can't tell how long everything's been decaying. The people-plants move in the wind. I get creeped out and l leave before finding anything.

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

Two hours!

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

That's time!